To Catch a Predator · Harris County investigation
Matthew Cogburn
Also reported as Matthew Clifton Cogburn
Matthew Cogburn was arrested during the Fortson, Georgia investigation. He pleaded guilty and received a ten-year prison term with a four-year minimum, plus 16 years of probation.
Photo: To Catch a Predator Wiki
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Evidence
- Attributed reporting
- Jurisdiction
- Harris County, Georgia
- Encounter
- Not established
- Decoy posed as
- Girl3
- Case number
- Not established
Personal details
- Born
- July 22, 1984
- Height
- 6′5″
- Weight
- 220 lb.
- Eyes
- Blue
Charges & sentence
Case records
Hansen investigationHarris County, Georgia · Sentenced
Sentence
Reported prison term of 10 years with a 4-year minimum; 16 years of probation and lifetime registration.5
Reviewed sting-related legal outcome. Order needed to clarify split-sentence structure. Do not calculate a total, infer current supervision, or replace the term with time actually served.
Case narrative
Biography
Matthew was an ordinary child growing up. He was raised as a highly religious kid, attending church camps every summer. He started online conversations with strangers around 2004.
On July 23rd, 2006, Matthew arrived at the sting house, taking him an extra half hour to get there because he was having trouble with directions. He is greeted by Emily Bicks , who had to wear a blond wig due to having black hair and Matthew wanting to be with a blond. Matthew then states he knew it was a setup and attempts to walk away. Chris stops him and says he has a few questions. Matthew asks Chris if it was "the national news". Chris asks questions as to what his plan was. Matthew responds that he is unable to explain because of his internal struggle over being a virgin. He begins walking towards the door and is stopped when Chris reveals who he is and the cameras come out. When asked if there was anything else he wanted to say, Matthew replied, "Keep your genes in your jeans" which took Chris some time to realize what he meant.
Aftermath
Matthew is later arrested by the Harris County Sheriff's Office. He is questioned by police and admitted he knew Emily was wearing a blond wig.
On February 19th, 2007, Matthew pleaded guilty to Attempted Child Molestation and Attempted Sodomy. He was sentenced to ten years in prison with a minimum of four years to serve, 16 years of probation and lifetime registration as a sex offender. On February 10th, 2009, after serving two years, he was granted parole, and he will continue to be under supervision until 2025.
Trivia
A day before arriving at the sting house, it was Matthew's 22nd birthday. Matthew became interested in art after his release from prison. In 2018, he started a website called "Arts on 5th," which featured his paintings, drawings, and woodwork. This website rather coincidentally shut down after Hansen reached out to Matthew for an interview for his Predators I've Caught podcast. Measuring 6'5", Matthew is one of the few predators to appear on the show that was taller than Chris Hansen (who is 6'2).
Community-written, from the To Catch a Predator Wiki. Not independently verified, and it does not establish charges or court outcomes.
Matthew Cogburn, To Catch a Predator Wiki contributors; see revision and history links. · CC-BY-SA
Media
Sources
- 164: The Jesus Rocks Predator on MegaphonePublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 264: The Jesus Rocks Predator on SpotifyPublic episode metadata matches the publisher RSS recording by title, release date and exact enclosure identifier. Reviewed publisher title/description names this profile as the subject of the recording.
- 3Matthew Cogburn (community wiki)Attributed community article. Revision date describes the article update, not a court or sting event. Full infobox, narrative sections, references and assets are retained in the private archive.
- 4Source cited in Biography (dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com)Source cited in Biography (dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com). Linked from Matthew Cogburn, revision 13597; original provenance and document claims require separate verification.
- 5Matthew Cogburn: legal outcome (revision 13597)Reported prison term of 10 years with a 4-year minimum; 16 years of probation and lifetime registration.
- 6Matthew Cogburn: archived criminal-history narrativeAftermath reports a February 19, 2007 guilty plea to attempted child molestation and attempted sodomy. The original prison/probation description is retained without converting a release date into a sentence.