GUILTY VA - Matthew Wheeler, HS football coach, arrested for child *advertiser censored*

Just got the job less than a month ago? Why did he leave his last post? And held without bail? Hmmmm.

High shool football's a pretty big deal in WV, isn't it? I'd think that the vetting process for the head coach would have been stringent. I wonder if this guy's just being shuffled around. I'll do some checking.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=159304

Matthew Wheeler, Parry McCluer High School Football Coach, Arrested On Child *advertiser censored* Charges
July 20, 2011

"A western Virginia man faces child-*advertiser censored* charges less than a month after he was hired as Parry McCluer High School's head football coach. A local newspaper reports that Matthew Wheeler was identified during a detention hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke...."

and

"...Wheeler is being held without bond in a local jail pending transfer to Lafayette, La., where he will stand trial...."

and

"...Federal authorities in Louisiana allege that the 31-year-old Wheeler was among at least 22 members of an online bulletin board on which participants posted links to child *advertiser censored*....."

more at link (plus mug shot)

A local article from last month about the new hire. Sadly, I don't think Parry McCluer High is starting off on the right foot for a winning season this year either. It looks like Wheeler's been at the school since 2002, so I'm not sure what the link to Louisiana is at this point:

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/290829

Parry McCluer looks to past with football coach hire
June 24, 2011

"When it comes to football tradition at Parry McCluer High School, few names resonate more than Wheeler. Parry McCluer dialed up the famed surname Thursday night as 1997 alumnus Matt Wheeler was hired as the Buena Vista school's head football coach. Wheelers have dotted Parry McCluer football rosters for decades. They also has a tradition of winning..."

and

Wheeler, 31, was a sophomore in 1994 on the last Parry McCluer team coached by the late Bob Williams, who won five state championships in an 11-year period.

and

"....Wheeler, a Parry McCluer assistant since 2002, must rebuild the roster...."

more at link

NOTE: A helpful poster has brought it to my attention that Wheeler is in western Virginia, not WV, as I typed in the header. I've asked a mod to correct the header.

Thanks for catching that.

Wheeler was caught up in a large bust that snagged 52. Looks like that number has grown to over 70 according to this article. We have a thread on that bust:

Feds bust child *advertiser censored* ring; 52 arrested - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


However, back to Coach Wheeler. Here's an update:

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/300451

Former Parry McCluer coach pleads guilty to child *advertiser censored* charges
October 29, 2011

"When Joseph "Matt" Wheeler took over as football coach at Parry McCluer High School, it was expected that he would be preparing the Fighting Blues for their last game of the season by now. Instead, Wheeler sits in a Louisiana jail, facing 15 to 30 years in prison for his role in an international child *advertiser censored* ring. Wheeler, 31, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon in federal court in Shreveport, La., to conspiring to advertise the distribution of child *advertiser censored*..."

and

"....He never got to coach a game. In July, federal agents showed up at Wheeler's Buena Vista home and charged him with being a member of Dreamboard, an international network that traded in images of child *advertiser censored*. Dreamboard had more than 500 members from as far away at Kenya, Switzerland, Germany, Qatar, Denmark and the Philippines, federal authorities have said. The case is based in Louisiana because that is where one of the key figures was living when the investigation began. More than 70 men are facing charges in Shreveport's federal court...."

and

"...One of the images found on Wheeler's account was of young girls, between the ages of 3 and 5, being tied up and forced to fondle an adult male, according to a motion filed by prosecutors seeking to have him held without bail. Another photograph was of an "extremely young girl who appeared to be drugged...."

More at link (plus mug shot)

The comment from the link above:

"...The case is based in Louisiana because that is where one of the key figures was living when the investigation began...."

makes me wonder if they are referring to Gregory Blackburn. We have a thread on him too and I've not been able to find any updates:


LA - LE arrested "most prolific trader of child *advertiser censored* in state of Louisiana" - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

September 2014

Joseph "Matt" Wheeler, whose secret involvement with child *advertiser censored* came to light shortly after he was hired as a high school football coach in Buena Vista, has been sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison.

Wheeler, 32, pleaded guilty earlier in Shreveport, La., to his role in an international child *advertiser censored* ring.

Click to expand...

http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/...a25-0aee-581b-bc0a-882b8040d2ea.html?mode=jqm