Brackenridge man accused of assaulting Butler County teen, sharing nude images of her

A Brackenridge man who worked as a security guard is accused of sexually assaulting a high school girl in Butler County and distributing nude and sexually explicit images of her.

Jackson Township police first charged Matthew Alan Cowan, 24, of Pacific Avenue in October in connection with the assault they say happened in August 2021 outside Seneca Valley High School.

Cranberry Township police on Friday charged Cowan with sharing more than a dozen nude or sexually explicit images and videos of the girl on social media.

Cowan was released from the Butler County jail on a $50,000 bond Nov. 3 in the assault case, according to court records. His formal arraignment in that case is scheduled for Tuesday.

Cowan was arraigned Thursday on the latest charges filed by Cranberry police and released, according to court records.

Attorney Alexander Lindsay Jr. is representing Cowan in the Jackson Township case and said he intends to represent him in the Cranberry Township case. Lindsay said he received a copy of the latest charges Wednesday morning but had not yet spoken with his client.

On the Jackson Township case, Lindsay said: “We’re anxious to defend Matt on that. We think it’s a defensible case.”

According to the criminal complaints against Cowan, he was employed by Securitas Security Services, a private company providing security services to the Seneca Valley School District.

A representative of Securitas did not respond to a request for comment. A school district spokeswoman could not be reached Wednesday.

According to the complaints, police started to investigate a possible assault and other crimes reported by a 17-year-old Seneca Valley High School student on Oct. 13, 2021.

Police said the girl told them she had been in contact with Cowan by phone and through social media for about eight months before the start of the 2021-22 school year, when she was 16 and 17.

The assault is alleged to have happened Aug. 26, 2021. According to the complaint, the girl couldn’t find her last class of the day and was in cellphone contact with Cowan, who told her to meet him behind the high school.

The complaint says he guided her to a trail, where the assault is alleged to have happened. The girl said the assault stopped after about 10 minutes when Cowan appeared to give up because she was resisting.

Police said Cowan was assigned to Ryan Gloyer Middle School. Police said a review of his key fob access Aug. 25 and 26, 2021, shows he left the middle school and walked through the campus to the back of the high school at the time the girl reported meeting him. Cowan returned to the middle school about 30 minutes later, the complaint states.

In the complaint filed by Cranberry police, the girl told police that she and other students at the high school sent nude and sexually explicit images to Cowan at his request. Police said they learned two people reported receiving nude digital images of the girl from an unknown person through Snapchat and Instagram.

Police said records from Instagram show an account used by Cowan disseminated 14 nude or sexually explicit images and videos of the girl to at least seven people on at least 20 instances between Aug. 21 and 23. Police said Cowan used his home internet service when sending most of the images.

According to the complaint, the girl knew the images originally were sent only to Cowan while she was still a student at the high school and younger than 18.

Cowan faces four felony and three misdemeanor charges filed by Jackson Township police in connection with the assault allegations. He faces 54 counts of three felony charges from Cranberry police for child pornography and sharing the images.