Chief on child rape suspect: 'He's the worst of the worst'

KENTON COUNTY, Ky. -- (WXIX) -- Authorities in northern Kentucky say a 29-year-old child rape suspect likely preyed on multiple young girls from the Dayton area all the way to Louisville.

Matthew Ryan Bucher, 29, was arrested last year and charged with raping a 12-year-old girl and possessing child porn.

While investigating that case, Kenton County police discovered images and other evidence indicating Bucher made sexual contact with multiple young girls, according to Police Chief Spike Jones.

“Bucher is a bad guy. He's the worst of the worst,” Jones said at a press conference Friday. “We don't know how many victims potentially this gentleman has.”

Police say Bucher could have preyed on “countless” young women who have not come forward. They are pleading with the public for new information on unidentified victims.

“If anyone has had contact with him, if anyone has seen him or knows someone who has had contact with him, we're pleading with them to come forward,” said Jones.

Bucher has been in the Kenton County Jail since June 29, 2016.

60,000 child porn images were found on his phone, some of which were homemade, according to Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Rob Sanders.

It's unclear whether Bucher shared the images on the internet. Finding other victims will help contain the dissemination of those images, Sanders said.

Before his arrest, investigators said Bucher would meet teens and pre-teens on apps like Facebook, KIK and MeetMe.

“His motive is to build confidence in online chats and eventually meet up with them and assault them,” said Jones. He then shamed the children to keep them quiet.

Bucher would pretend to be 18-years-old and sometimes went by the name “Matt C. Percin.”

The offenses happened in his mother's Fort Mitchell home or Bucher's silver Mazda, Sanders said.