Former Owensboro School Superintendent Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Exploitation Offenses

Matthew D. Constant, 53, Owensboro.

Edmonson Voice Report:
The former Superintendent of Owensboro Public Schools was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for numerous child sexual exploitation offenses.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Acting Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Jr. of the Kentucky State Police made the announcement.

According to court documents, Matthew D. Constant, 53, a former superintendent, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison followed by a life term of supervised release for two counts of online enticement of a minor, three counts of receipt of child pornography, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor.

There is no parole in the federal system.   

This case was investigated by FBI Owensboro and the Kentucky State Police.

The OPS system suspended Constant without pay in June of 2023 in the midst of allegations he was involved in a relationship with an 18 year-old student enrolled in another school district. Just over one month later, Constant was arrested and charged with procuring or promoting the use of a minor and tampering with physical evidence while he was the school superintendent.

In August of 2024, Constant was indicted on the following charges:

• Two counts of online enticement of a minor
• Three counts of receipt of child pornography
• Two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
• Two counts of transferring obscene material to a minor.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in February of 2025, which was not part of any plea deal, according to court records.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.