Clearman

An East Texas paramedic was arrested Saturday at the Bullard Fire Department on a child pornography charge for allegedly sharing dozens of inappropriate images of children using Instagram, text messages and other devices.

Matthew Tyler Clearman, 43, of Lindale, was charged with possession and promotion of child pornography and booked into the Smith County Jail on Saturday with a $500,000 bond, according to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.

Clearman was employed with Christus EMS as a paramedic. He does not work for the Bullard Fire Department, sheriff’s office public information officer Sgt. Larry Christian said.

In a statement Monday, Christus EMS said no patients were involved in Clearman’s alleged offenses and he has been placed on unpaid leave.

“We were recently contacted to support law enforcement in the arrest of Matt Clearman related to activities that occurred away from and unrelated to his work,” Christus EMS’ statement read. “A preliminary review indicates that no patients are in any way involved, and the individual has been placed on unpaid leave. We continue to cooperate fully with the authorities, and we will keep all who may have been victimized in our prayers.”

Smith County Sheriff’s Office investigators received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in April showing two files uploaded to Instagram by a user, who was later identified as Clearman, using a known IP address. One of the two photos from the NCMEC information showed a man wearing a firefighter bunker gear and helmet, while the other included child pornography and obscene visual material of a child.

Using his Facebook photo, investigators identified Clearman as the man depicted in the firefighter gear.

Through a search warrant on July 20, investigators received 88 media files from Instagram, and officers found many photos and a video showing child pornography and inappropriate visual material of children between ages 7 to 16. Officers also found text messages between Clearman and other people about sharing child pornography images, the sheriff’s office said.

On July 30, officers received a search warrant for Clearman’s residence in the 16000 block of Rolling Meadows in Lindale, where several multimedia devices were found with hundreds of child pornographic images, according to the sheriff’s office.

An arrest warrant was then issued last Friday and Clearman was booked into jail Saturday.