Instead, Harvey "became concerned" and alerted Pinellas County sheriff's Deputy Tammy Nixon. Nixon regularly visits the Palace Home Park at 2500 54{+t}{+h} Ave. N. as part of her duties with the Sexual Predator and Offender Tracking Unit, sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha said. Pinellas County authorities joined forces with the FBI and began an undercover investigation.

With law enforcement recording, Harvey told Matthews on May 9 that he had found a woman who would let him take pictures of her 11-year-old daughter. The woman was played by Margaret Grow, an agent on the FBI's Innocent Images task force, according to an affidavit unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court.

Matthews "expressed interest in sexually explicit photos of the child, including photos of the child's genitalia," the affidavit said.
Plans For Busch Gardens

Matthews called the undercover agent later that day and talked about going to Busch Gardens with the girl, according to the affidavit. He asked her how much she would charge for permission to take photos and asked her to send him some pictures, the affidavit said. Grow mailed Matthews childhood pictures of another female law enforcement officer.

The next day, May 10, Matthews called Grow three times in less than three hours. Grow called back on May 11, and Matthews asked for her daughter's clothing size so he could buy her clothes to wear for the photos he planned to take, the affidavit said.

Through Harvey, Matthews arranged to meet Grow and her daughter at a McDonald's in Brandon on Thursday night. Matthews picked up Harvey, who was wearing a concealed recording device. The two drove for two hours, arguing about how to get to the McDonald's, the affidavit said.

About 11:45 p.m, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Stacy Aruda called Harvey's cell phone and gave him directions to the McDonald's. The pair arrived about 12:35 a.m. Friday. Members of the task force and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office converged on Matthews' pickup and arrested Matthews.

Inside the truck, agents found five cameras, a book about how to photograph children and a pair of panties and a top for a young girl, the affidavit said.
Conviction Carries Heavy Penalty

Matthews appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Mark Pizzo, who ordered him held without bail on a charge of attempting to produce child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in federal prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke told Pizzo that Matthews made statements about wanting to find a child and "take her for his own."

Matthews also faces possible revocation of his federal probation for a 1999 case in which he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to three years and a month in federal prison, followed by three years of probation.

In June 2000, Matthews' attorney filed a motion saying he thought Matthews was mentally retarded and that Matthews claimed he had attended a special-needs school throughout his entire life. At the defense's request, a court-appointed psychiatrist examined Matthews and determined he was competent to stand trial, records state.

If Matthews' probation is revoked, it would be the second time his probation was revoked in connection with the 1999 case, court records state. The first time was in 2004, after he told a probation officer he had viewed sexually explicit photos of children and used online services to view sexually explicit material in the Eastlake Community Library in Pinellas County, court records state.

After Matthews acknowledged violating his probation, U.S. District Judge James Moody sentenced him to 11 months in prison followed by two more years of probation.

According to records, Matthews also was convicted in state court in 1984 of sexual battery of a victim younger than 12. It was not clear what his sentence was.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.