A Florida Democratic Party official is accused of possessing videos of children being sexually abused by adults and attempting to arrange a meet-up with an undercover cop posing as the father of a nine-year-old potential victim, prosecutors said.
Matthew Inman, who advertises his role as the Orange County Democratic Party treasurer and Rainbow Democrats president on his LinkedIn page, was arrested and charged with transportation of child sex abuse material earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida said in a news release.
The 39-year-old Orange County man also boasts of being a Democrat National Committee (DNC) delegate, as well as a member of the” LGBTQ+” community in his Instagram bio.
The criminal complaint alleges that Inman received and saved “several videos” of child sex abuse material (CSAM) depicting “adults sexually assaulting young children” between August and October 2024.
That October, he traveled to Las Vegas and allegedly began communicating online with an undercover law enforcement officer who said he had a nine-year-old son.
During his conversation with the cop, Inman “expressed interest in meeting and sexually assaulting the purported child” and sent CSAM material, prosecutors said.
While FBI agents executed a search warrant at Inman’s Florida residence, the Democrat official allegedly “attempted to delete the evidence from his phone and hide in the attic of his house.”
The nonprofit organization that he serves as president of, Rainbow Democrat, serves “to foster goodwill between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and allied members of the Democratic Party and the community at large.”
“We seek to promote LGBT individuals to seek office and further advance our issues at the local, state, and national levels,” the group’s mission statement asserts.
In a statement on Facebook, the nonprofit said they were “shocked” to hear about the allegations:
Statement by the Rainbow Democrats Board in Response to the Arrest of Matthew Inman
Posted by Rainbow Democrats on Tuesday, January 21, 2025
“The Rainbow Democrats are shocked to hear about the allegations against Matthew Inman. We offer our condolences to any victims of child sexual abuse and hope justice will be served to the fullest extent of the law,” the group wrote.
The group added that Inman has since been suspended from his role as president, and will be “officially removed at our next general meeting.”
The Orange County Democrats also responded to the disturbing allegations, stating they are “deeply appalled and horrified by the news that Matthew Inman has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse involving a minor”:
Orange County Democratic Party Statement in Response to the Arrest of Matthew Inman
Posted by Orange County (FL) Democrats on Tuesday, January 21, 2025
“We unequivocally condemn child sexual abuse in the strongest possible terms and hope that any victims involved receive the support and resources they need moving forward,” party officials wrote on Facebook.
Inman has also been suspended from his role in the party since his arrest.
Posts from his personal Instagram page show him at the 2024 Democrat National Convention, and instructing people to “un-friend” him if they disagree with his “anti-Trump” and “pro-LGBTQIA” beliefs:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Inman is currently being held in the Seminole County Jail without bond, the New York Post reported.
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
