Pending cases push back sentencing for 'worst of the worst' child rape suspect

KENTON COUNTY, Ky. -- (WXIX) -- A 29-year-old child rape suspect was convicted by a Kenton County jury on Thursday.

Matthew Bucher was convicted on six counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor under 16, and six counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor.

The northern Kentucky native was arrested in June of 2016 and charged with raping a 12-year-old girl and possessing child porn.

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.”

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 in April. “We don't know how many victims potentially this gentleman has.”

During the investigation of this case and preparation for trial, officials said detectives located additional evidence suggesting several other female juveniles have been victimized by Bucher.

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

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