Child Porn, Sex Assault, More Charges Filed Against Delco Pair

By Max Bennett

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — A Delaware County man and woman have been charged with crimes related to child pornography and child sex assault, according to authorities.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer Wednesday said Gia Michelle Cubler, 20, of Woodlyn, and Matteo Thomas Arriaga, 20, of Ridley Park, have been charged with multiple felony counts for the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault with a person less than ten years old, endangering the welfare of children, and conspiracy.

According to the DA's office, Arriaga was initially charged in January with 25 counts of possessing child pornography and 25 counts of use of a criminal communication facility after he uploaded offensive material on the Snapchat social media platform.

In connection with that investigation, investigators seized four Apple iPhones, two laptops, a custom PC and two external hard drives.

Detective Christopher Tankelewicz of the Criminal Investigation Division conducted a forensic investigation and alerted CID Detective Lisa Martini that he had found 271 videos of child pornography, including a 23-second video clip recorded on Arriaga’s phone in a Snapchat message thread with a person identified as "Gia," authorities said.

Further investigation connected "Gia" to Cubler, who was also known as Gia Carroll.

The pair's messages included discussing creating more child pornography, authorities said.

In an interview, Cubler allegedly admitted to making the videos and sending them to Arriaga, according to authorities.

Investigators ultimately found 271 unique videos and 156 unique images of child pornography on Arriaga’s phone, including 30 images and eight videos of infant- or toddler-aged children, according to authorities.

“The couple charged in this case were engaged in the production of child pornography with infant victims" Stollsteimer said. "It is hard to truly express our outrage at such acts of moral depravity. The fact that the victims were infants, and therefore not fully cognizant of what was being done to them, does not turn this into a victimless crime. The full weight of the law will now be used to speak for these helpless, innocent victims."

Investigators believe that there may be additional as-yet-unidentified victims in this case. Anyone with concerns about any contact that a child may have had with Arriaga or Cubler is urged to contact the District Attorney’s office.

“Consumers and producers of child pornography perpetuate the exploitation of child victims, something my office simply won’t abide," Stollstiemer said. "We are extremely fortunate to have the assistance of the men and women of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, each of whom is dedicated to protecting child victims. My appreciation is deep for the work of Detectives Martini and Tankelewicz, and all the members of ICAC and our Child Abuse and Exploitation Task Force. They truly perform heroic work."

Arriaga has been remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $500,000 bail and is scheduled for a June 22 preliminary hearing.

Cubler has also been remanded to the George W. Hill Correctional Facility on $500,000 cash bail and is awaiting a June 22 preliminary hearing.