A 41-year-old Solon, Maine man wanted on sexual assault charges was pulled off a departure line at Philadelphia International Airport on August 16, just before he could board a one-way flight to Germany. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Matthew Thomas Cooley at the gate, police say, ending a months-long search that began after a Somerset County Sheriff's Office investigation into allegations that he assaulted a woman twice during 2025.
According to WABI, Cooley faced charges including sexual assault, domestic violence stalking, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and assaulting an officer before he was intercepted. The Somerset County investigation had already been underway for months by the time Cooley allegedly tried to flee the country, according to the station. As reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer, detectives opened the sexual assault case after a 31-year-old woman reported in early 2026 that Cooley had sexually assaulted her twice throughout 2025.
A Pepper-Spray Confrontation at His Rural Maine Home
The case escalated in April 2026, when Somerset County detectives went to arrest Cooley at his home in Solon, a small rural town of 978 residents that relies on the county sheriff's office for primary law enforcement, per the same account. Authorities say Cooley pepper-sprayed the detectives during that encounter, and the alleged victim later provided investigators with photos and videos showing firearms and hundreds of boxes of ammunition inside his residence, the Inquirer reports. That confrontation is what led to the additional charges of assaulting an officer and refusing to submit to arrest, on top of the original sexual assault allegations.
It remains unclear how Cooley came to be free months later and attempting to leave the country. Court and law enforcement records reviewed as of August 19 did not clarify the circumstances or conditions under which Cooley was released from Somerset County custody following that April arrest, according to Patch. That gap leaves open questions about bail or pretrial release conditions that allowed him to reach an international departure gate at all.
How Federal Officers Flagged Him at the Gate
The interception relied on routine federal screening rather than a tip. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers screen outgoing international passengers by cross-referencing flight manifests in real time against national law enforcement databases, including the FBI's National Crime Information Center, per the agency's own account. That system is what flagged Cooley as he attempted to board the flight to Germany, leading officers to detain him before departure and turn him over to Pennsylvania police.
CBP Area Port Director Elliott N. Ortiz said federal officers use their border security authority at international departure gates to help sexual assault victims seek justice by apprehending fugitives trying to flee. Philadelphia CBP officers have made similar interceptions before; the agency notes that officers there previously stopped suspects attempting to flee or transport illicit materials on Europe-bound flights, including two separate gate interceptions on consecutive days in March 2026, as detailed by Homeland Security Today.
Extradition Approved, Charges Still Unproven
Following the arrest, Cooley was held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where public records show a judge approved his extradition back to Maine on August 18. He is now awaiting transport to face the charges in Somerset County.
Federal documentation lays out the full scope of what Cooley faces: two Class A counts of gross sexual assault, one Class B count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, one Class D count of domestic violence stalking, two Class C counts of assault on an officer, and one Class D count of refusing to submit to arrest. Under Maine Revised Statutes Title 17-A, a conviction on a Class A felony such as gross sexual assault carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000, while Class B felonies carry up to 10 years, according to the Maine Legislature's statutes. All charges remain allegations at this stage, with no adjudication yet in Maine courts.
