A Pennsylvania man is being accused by federal prosecutors of traveling to California to have sex with a 13-year-old girl in a plot that would have culminated in both their suicides if not for law enforcement intervention. Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice held a press conference and released a complaint surrounding the allegations against Matthew Edward Pysher on Monday morning. The complaint, filed Sunday in Los Angeles, charges Pysher, 18, with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. According to the complaint, Pysher groomed and encouraged a girl, listed as “Minor Victim One,” to send him sexually explicit material and images of self-harm over a Discord server. Discord is an instant messaging and voice communication platform. The complaint stated that the victim met Pysher in a server related to individuals suffering from mental illness. “Among other things, Pysher specifically encouraged Minor Victim One, via chat messages, to engage in acts of self-harm, including by establishing a Discord server where [the victim] could be filmed using blades to cut herself,” the complaint states, adding that the victim only recently turned 13 years old. The abuse culminated in Pysher traveling from eastern Pennsylvania, specifically the borough of Bangor, to Los Angeles to meet the young girl for sexual activity, the complaint explained. (…) According to the complaint, law enforcement was able to obtain emergency disclosures and located both Pysher and Minor Victim One at the motel. “Also inside the room [were] condoms, a knife, lubricant, razor blades, bloody tissues and an American Airlines boarding pass for Flight AA827 from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in Pysher’s name,” the complaint states. A faraday bag, which blocks electronic signals, was also found near Pysher’s cell phone. In the wake of the young girl being found in Castaic, she told law enforcement that Pysher came to California specifically to see her and engage in sexual acts. Also, in a chilling revelation, the girl said they had planned on committing suicide together but were unable to because law enforcement found them. (…) In a press release that was also issued Monday, the Department of Justice explained the teenage suspect is part of a nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) group called 764, whose members, according to federal officials, are known to “engage in criminal conduct within the United States and abroad in furtherance of political, social or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction and social instability.” “NVEs often target vulnerable individuals, including minors, and frequently use social media platforms to share child sexual abuse material or gore material or to groom victims toward committing acts of violence,” the DOJ said in the press release. “NVEs and their members frequently extort or blackmail victims into complying with NVE demands, which vary but may include self-mutilation, online and in-person sexual acts, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence and threats of violence, suicide and murder.”
siehe auch: Pennsylvania Man Arrested at Castaic Motel Federally Charged After Grooming Minor Victim into Engaging in Acts of Self-Harm. A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and federally charged after grooming a girl who recently turned 13 years old to send him sexually explicit material of herself and images of self-harm over the internet, a pattern of abuse consistent with nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) ideology that culminated in law enforcement rescuing her at a Santa Clarita Valley motel. Matthew Edward Pysher, 18, of Bangor, Pennsylvania, was arrested late Friday in Castaic and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Pysher is charged in a federal criminal complaint with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison. “The facts charged in this case are chilling,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “If your children have access to use the internet, sadistic predators may have access to your kids. Law enforcement will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to harm children. We advise parents to keep their kids offline.” “The subject arrested this weekend is one of a growing number of alleged nihilistic violent extremists who prey on children and talk them into compromising sex acts and self-mutilation,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to finding and holding accountable these sadistic predators and ensuring they face serious consequences for their vile acts.” (…) Based on a review of the contents of the victim’s smartphone and Pysher’s online activities, law enforcement believes that Pysher is associated with NVE ideology. The complaint details the nature of NVEs, including 764, a group whose members are known to the FBI to engage in criminal conduct within the United States and abroad in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability. NVEs often target vulnerable individuals, including minors, and frequently use social media platforms to share child sexual abuse material or gore material or to groom victims toward committing acts of violence. NVEs and their members frequently extort or blackmail victims into complying with NVE demands, which vary but may include self-mutilation; online and in-person sexual acts; harm to animals; sexual exploitation of siblings and others; acts of violence; and threats of violence, suicide, and murder.