Media, PA – Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer today announced that Gia Michelle Cubler, 20, of Woodlyn, and Matteo Thomas Arriaga, 20, of Ridley Park, have been charged with multiple felony counts for the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault with a person less than ten years old, endangering the welfare of children, and conspiracy.
“The couple charged in this case were engaged in the production of child pornography with infant victims. It is hard to truly express our outrage at such acts of moral depravity. The fact that the victims were infants, and therefore not fully cognizant of what was being done to them, does not turn this into a victimless crime. The full weight of the law will now be used to speak for these helpless, innocent victims,” said District Attorney Stollsteimer.
Defendant Arriaga was initially charged in January with 25 counts of possessing child pornography and 25 counts of use of a criminal communication facility after he uploaded offensive material on the Snapchat social media platform. In connection with that investigation, investigators seized four Apple iPhones, two laptops, a custom PC and two external hard drives.
Detective Christopher Tankelewicz of the Criminal Investigation Division conducted a forensic investigation and alerted CID Detective Lisa Martini that he had found 271 videos of child pornography, including a 23-second video clip recorded on Arriaga’s phone in a Snapchat message thread with a person identified as “Gia.” Further investigation connected “Gia” to defendant Gia Cubler, who was also known as Gia Carroll. The defendants’ messages included discussions regarding the creation of more child pornography. In an interview, Cubler allegedly admitted to making the videos and sending them to Arriaga. Investigators ultimately found 271 unique videos and 156 unique images of child pornography on Arriaga’s phone, including 30 images and eight videos of infant- or toddler-aged children.
Investigators believe that there may additional as-yet-unidentified victims in this case. If you or anyone you know has concerns about any contact that a child may have had with these defendants, please contact the District Attorney’s office as soon as possible.
“Consumers and producers of child pornography perpetuate the exploitation of child victims, something my office simply won’t abide. We are extremely fortunate to have the assistance of the men and women of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, each of whom is dedicated to protecting child victims. My appreciation is deep for the work of Detectives Martini and Tankelewicz, and all the members of ICAC and our Child Abuse and Exploitation Task Force. They truly perform heroic work,” said Stollsteimer.
Arriaga has been remanded to the county jail in lieu of 10% of $500,000 bail. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 22 before District Magistrate Michael Burns. Cubler has also been remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility on $500,000 cash bail and is awaiting a June 22 preliminary hearing before Judge Burns.
The District Attorney and the Criminal Investigation Division remind anyone in Delaware County who observes suspicious activity to call 911 immediately and provide the most specific and accurate details possible to assist law enforcement agencies investigating the call for service.
CRIMINAL CHARGES, AND ANY DISCUSSION THEREOF, ARE ALLEGATIONS AND ALL DEFENDANTS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNLESS AND UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
Contact: Margie McAboy, Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, 610-579-0429.