Slate Belt man gets 15 years for enticing girl to exchange explicit images online

July 18--Calling a Slate Belt man's online demands for sexually explicit pictures and videos from a 9-year-old autistic girl unbelievable, a federal judge sentenced him Tuesday to 15 years in prison followed by a lengthy term of supervision.

But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl said Matthew Simineri's conduct was so disturbing, he thought about throwing out a plea agreement that would spare the 21-year-old Washington Township, Northampton County, man a much longer prison term.

"I've been a judge nearly 20 years and the facts of this case are horrifying," Schmehl said. "This is one of the first times I'm actually considering not going along with a plea agreement."

Federal prosecutors indicted Simineri in October on 10 charges related to his use of an online chat app to persuade the girl, who lived in Spokane, Wash., to exchange nude photos and videos of herself performing sex acts.

Although sentencing guidelines recommended a prison term of nearly 22 years to more than 27 years, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a 15 year sentence, which is mandatory for enticing a minor.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella said it was not typical for the U.S. attorney to seek a sentence shorter than the guidelines recommend, but her office negotiated the plea in light of Simineri's age and his learning disabilities.

Rotella, however, said a lengthy term of supervision would be required upon Simineri's release from prison. Schmehl also ordered Simineri to serve 25 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender.

She said Simineri's lawyer had put together an image of her client as a good, kind person involved in his community using letters of support from Simineri's family and friends, but it was belied by his conduct.

"If the court were to read the chats in this case, you would see a different person," Rotella said.

Rotella said Simineri's online exchanges with the girl weren't solely intended to obtain images for his sexual gratification, but rather about dominating and degrading another person.

"He berated this child from the very beginning," Rotella said.

"It was relentless, and the only time you saw a shadow of the person who sits here today is when the girl's older sister caught what was going on," Rotella said, adding that Simineri apologized and begged the sister not to go to police.

Assistant federal defender Kathleen Gaughan argued that Simineri is unlikely to re-offend after he is released from prison, noting that no other child pornography was found on his computer or other devices.

"If history is any indication of future behavior, he did not reach out to other children," Gaughan said.

Simineri spoke briefly and apologized to his family, who were in the courtroom, and the girl and her family. Questioned about his conduct by the judge, Simineri said he knew it was wrong.

"I just didn't know it was a punishment this serious," he said.

Simineri was indicted in October following an investigation by the FBI and law enforcement authorities in Washington and Pennsylvania.

According to court documents, Simineri began chatting with the girl in December 2015 and continued for nearly a month, sending her lewd pictures and requesting the girl to do the same, before the exchanges were discovered by the girl's adult sister.

Although the girl told Simineri she was 17, he admitted to investigators that he suspected she was much younger when he first saw pictures of her but continued the conversation anyway, a criminal complaint against Simineri says.

When the girl told Simineri after a few days she was only 11, Simineri allegedly continued to request sexually explicit pictures of the girl, the complaint says.

After the girl's sister discovered the conversations Dec. 27, authorities obtained a warrant and searched his home and seized his smartphone and other electronic devices.

peter.hall@mcall.com

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