Delaware Man Admits Coercing 11-Year-Old to Engage in Sex Acts

A Bear, DE man has been sentenced to federal prison for coercing an 11-year-old to engage in sex acts. Darius Matylewich, 27, of Bear, DE, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of Coercion and Enticement of a Minor.

According to court documents, Matylewich was arrested by the FBI after he removed an 11-year-old from her New Jersey home and traveled with her to his Bear, DE home to engage in sexual activity. On September 10, 2023, the Wayne Township New Jersey Police Department received a report of a missing 11-year-old victim. Through investigative measures, WTPD determined that Matylewich took the 11-year-old victim from New Jersey to his home in Bear, DE.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Matylewich met the 11-year-old victim on the internet and communicated with the victim via online video games and social media platforms. A forensic analysis of Matylewich’s cellphone and social media uncovered message threads in which Matylewich coerced the 11-year-old victim to perform sexual acts, and, in turn, produce child pornography, for him. Investigators also recovered messages in which Matylewich described covertly watching and following the victim near her New Jersey home.

Matylewich also used an application on his iPhone to covertly record conversations, videos, and images of the 11-year-old performing sexual acts that Matylewich solicited from the victim. Matylewich stored hundreds of videos and images of the victim within the “hidden” folder of his Apple Photos application, which could only be accessed via facial recognition.

“My office is dedicated to protecting children from those, like the defendant, who prey on the innocent and vulnerable on the internet,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss. “I urge families to be wary of sharing information with online strangers to avoid individuals like the defendant.”

“Darius Matylewich is a child predator whose sick and abhorrent behavior took advantage of an innocent girl, who now has significant healing ahead of her,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “Unequivocally, our community is safer with Matylewich behind bars, locked away where he can no longer victimize anyone else’s child.”