(JTA) — A former counselor at a JCC day camp in suburban Detroit convicted of sharing pictures of nude boys online overdosed on drugs a day before he was scheduled to enter federal prison.
Matthew Kuppe, 22, was taken into federal custody on Friday, a day after he had been scheduled to enter prison and two days after he was found “unresponsive” in his home and taken to a hospital, the Detroit Free Press reported.
It is not known what drugs Kuppe took. One of his attorneys told the Detroit News that his client is taking six different medications.
Kuppe pleaded guilty in August 2016 to posting photos of naked boys on a Russian website, including of three 5-year-old campers who were in his care. Kuppe used the handle “jcclockerroom” to post several photos of the naked boys.
As part of Kuppe’s plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of producing child pornography.
He was sentenced in April to 10 years in federal prison under strict federal sentencing guidelines. At the time of his sentencing, Kuppe was not taken into custody and the court allowed him to surrender at a later date. He was also removed from the restriction of wearing a GPS bracelet and was allowed to leave his home until he was to report to prison.
Kuppe, who had worked at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit for two summers and at one point supervised its special-needs campers, was fired after JCC officials learned he was under investigation. Three other JCC employees later were dismissed for failing to alert senior management to concerns expressed about Kuppe in 2014.
