YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The YMCA of Youngstown says the former Camp Fitch Director will not receive a second chance for employment despite receiving an only one-day jail sentence for child pornography.

 

A federal judge sentenced former Camp Fitch Executive Director Matthew Poese to one day in jail, 12 months of home detention and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine. 

 

Poese pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

 

Court records show that Poese allegedly had explicit content on a cell phone, a hard drive and a network storage area.

 

Poese's attorney claims the case involves one image. Poese's sentencing memorandum says the image that resulted in the federal charge was that of a nude pre-pubescent female standing in a modeling pose exposing her breasts and vaginal area.

 

According to the memorandum, "almost exclusively he (Poese) used legally obtained pornography with adult subjects but his curiosity got the best of him following "suggested" search terms led him to a previously unknown corner of the web with one photo that turned out to be illegal."

 

The memo is accompanied by a 430-page supplement containing letters of support from more than 150 people who know Poese, most from his association with Camp Fitch.

 

The letters are accompanied by pictures of the writers, many from their time at Camp Fitch.

 

The YMCA of Youngstown said, "that while some staff and board members exercised their right to voice their personal opinions regarding the sentencing of Mr. Poese, the YMCA of Youngstown remains in full support of the judicial system's process. Regardless of the sentencing decision, Mr. Poese will not be considered for re-employment at the YMCA now or at any point in the future, and he is permanently banned from all YMCA property."

 

As soon as the YMCA of Youngstown learned about the investigation into Poese they suspended his employment and banned him from all of their properties. 

 

At the time charges were filed, a YMCA official said the allegation did not involve any of the YMCA's campers, not was there any evidence that Poese acted inappropriately with any of the campers with Camp Fitch.

 

Until his arrest earlier this year, Poese was in charge of the YMCA-operated residential summer camp on the shores of Lake Erie between Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Ohio State Line.

 

The full statement from the YMCA can be read below.