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Additional child rape victims claim Fort Mitchell man abused them

Call 859-240-8548 with any tips or info
Posted at 5:42 AM, Apr 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-20 05:43:55-04

COVINGTON, Ky. -- At least six additional local victims have come forward after Kenton County Police requested information on other girls who may have been abused by a 29-year-old Fort Mitchell man. 

Police believe Matthew Ryan Bucher raped, photographed and abused at least a dozen teens from Dayton, Ohio, to Louisville. Earlier in the month, they set up a special hotline at 859-240-8548 to collect tips on the case.

Kenton County investigators say Bucher met young girls on social media apps like Facebook, Kik and Meet-Me using various photos and the alias Matt C. Percin. They say Bucher made his victims think they were dating and that he told the girls he was much younger than he is.

In some cases, police say Bucher took his victims to his Fort Mitchell apartment, which he shared with his mother, to sexually assault and photograph them. During the investigation, police discovered more than 60,000 photos on his devices.

Police say the youngest victim in this case is 12 years old, and she was actually the first to come forward. Police hope by identifying every victim, they'll prevent this from happening to anyone else.

"We believe there is more victims and once again, we would plead for them to step forward," said Lt. Colonel Scott Hardcorn of the Kenton County Police Department. "Anybody that has any info that can help us - whether you're a victim or not or maybe you know of a friend who interacted with this individual - that could help us. This is really a horrific case. We want to make sure that Mr. Bucher never has the opportunity to do this again. We want to be able to bring justice to the victims that are out there and get them the help they need."