A city employee who has coached Clackamas Little League girls softball in the past is accused of accessing online chat rooms to view child sexual abuse images.

Matthew Thomas Hoyt, 39, a Portland utility worker, was arrested Monday morning at Gabriel Park near his city-owned work vehicle, according to a federal complaint filed in court Tuesday.

A federal agent used a web page to help identify and locate Hoyt; the site listed him as a team coach for the 2021 Clackamas Little League Minors Softball Tournament, according to the complaint.

On Tuesday afternoon, defense lawyer Bear Wilner-Nugent entered a not guilty plea on Hoyt’s behalf during his first appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland. Hoyt is charged with receiving, possessing or accessing child abuse images.

The complaint alleges Hoyt uploaded photos of a 12-year-old girl to online group chats and private chats and discussed “his fantasies of children having sex with adults.”

Wilner-Nugent argued for Hoyt’s release from custody pending trial, suggesting Hoyt be allowed to live at his mother-in-law’s home and to continue his work for the city. Wilner-Nugent said the allegation represented “low-level” sharing of alleged child sexual material online but no hands-on abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mira Chernick opposed release, saying Hoyt was “soliciting hands-on abuse of a child he has access to.” Hoyt is accused of telling people online “that he wanted to watch” a 12-year-old girl being sexually assaulted, shared photos of a 12-year-old girl in a bikini at a pool and admitted after his arrest to having fantasies of children having sex with adults, according to the complaint, the prosecutor and the magistrate judge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Youlee Yim You ordered Hoyt to remain in custody, though she recognized his ties to the community and lack of a prior criminal history.

“It’s hard to find a word to describe the severity of the allegations here,” Yim said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”

-- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, or on LinkedIn.

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