Mendocino County reporter accused of sending sexual messages to 17-year-old, police say

A Mendocino County news reporter was arrested Monday on suspicion of making sexual comments on social media toward a 17-year-old Ukiah High School student, police said.

Matt LaFever, 37, was taken into custody around 7 a.m. at his Hopland home following an investigation that began Oct. 16, according to the Ukiah Police Department. He is suspected of knowingly annoying or molesting a minor — a misdemeanor under California law that applies to sexually motivated behavior toward someone under 18 — and was being held Monday night at the Mendocino County jail on $10,000 bail, records show.

As of Monday evening, Mendocino County court records did not list formal charges.

LaFever, who covered news throughout Mendocino County on his website Mendofever — which was offline Monday night — had also recently been teaching journalism at Ukiah High School, police said.

An investigation began when a parent reported that LaFever made a sexual comment toward her 17-year-old daughter, police said. During their investigation, another 17-year-old student told officers that LaFever sent her sexually suggestive messages on social media even though he knew she was a minor.

“LaFever had persisted to make sexually suggestive comments about her and repeatedly asked her to send him inappropriate photographs,” police said in a news release. Investigators said he also sent the girl “scantily clad and inappropriate photos of himself.”

Police confiscated LaFever’s phone and laptops on Oct. 17 and said they found social media conversations supporting the allegations. He allegedly used variations of the screen name “Johnnyender” to contact “numerous” minors throughout Mendocino and Sonoma counties, according to police.

Investigators have not yet identified other potential victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.