Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering had barely finished briefing the media Friday on the arrest of a top-ranking department officer when the suspect, charged with a series of sexual offenses involving a nine-year-old girl, posted bail and was released from jail.
Lt. Eddie L. Matthews, 45, was taken into custody about 8:45 a.m. Friday and ordered held under $100,000 bail. Jail records show that Matthews was released at 3:21 p.m. after a local bail bond company posted a bond the same day.
Pickering scheduled a media briefing on the case for 2 p.m. Friday, but the session did not begin until almost 2:30 p.m. It lasted about 30 minutes.
Matthews, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was in charge of the patrol division prior to his arrest. He was immediately suspended from duty pending an internal departmental probe, said Pickering. Matthews is accused of repeated assaults on the girl beginning last year.
Tags: child sex abuse, officer charged