Themis Matsoukas, a former professor of chemical engineering at Penn State University, has recently been hit with more charges after acquiring mainstream attention for his case in June 2023. Here is everything you need to know about the initial reports up to the most recent updates.
Matsoukas began his time at Penn State University over 20 years ago, joining the chemical engineering department in 1991. He held a generally positive public image, having won the Premier Teaching Award in 2017 from the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society and a ⅘ rating on ratemyprofessors.com.
In April 2023, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources installed trail cameras in Rothrock State Forest, about seven miles from the university. A park ranger filed an affidavit for probable cause to install the cameras after suspicion of individuals stealing hand sanitizer from the bathrooms — entirely unrelated to Matsoukas. The cameras were officially set up on April 12th.
The following evening, the cameras caught Matsoukas masturbating near a women’s restroom, performing lewd acts with his dog and filming himself with an iPad. Two camp owners with trail cams in the area were contacted by investigators and provided cameras with photos dating back to July 2014 of a naked man later identified as Matsoukas.
The professor’s bail was set at $50,000, and his original court date was scheduled for August 15, 2023, according to the original criminal docket. During his hearing, Matsoukas waived his opportunity to challenge the evidence found by police.
Matsoukas was put on paid leave by Penn State University immediately after the charges came out in June 2023.
In the past couple of weeks, more articles have come out going into further detail on Matsoukas’ case. With a search warrant, police uncovered multiple iPads in the professor’s home with 55 videos of him performing various sexual acts in the Rothrock State Forest. Between trail cameras and Matsoukas’ personal iPads, he was found to be using a lollipop, flowers, a tree branch and a handle from a John Deere crawler for other various lewd acts.
He was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, indecent exposure, open lewdness, disorderly conduct, defiant treatment and summary criminal trespass and summary disorderly conduct in cases filed on February 12. Matsoukas waived his preliminary hearing originally scheduled for February 21, 2024.
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