Matthew Clem, Child Exploitation, Massachusetts 2016

BOSTON – In a disturbing case of online predation, a Charlton man pleaded guilty to soliciting hundreds of teenage girls on social media platforms.

Matthew Clem, 31, pleaded guilty to three counts of producing child pornography in U.S. District Court in Worcester. Judge Hillman scheduled sentencing for July 13, 2016.

Clem posed as a 15-16 year old boy on several social media platforms in order to meet teenage girls. After chatting with them, Clem proposed that they meet his 19 or 20 year old “cousin,” who Clem claimed was returning from active military duty. The “cousin,” however, was Clem himself who had never served in the military.

Evidence on Clem’s cell phone revealed that he had solicited over 1,000 potential victims. During the plea hearing, Clem admitted that in October 2014 he requested and obtained nude photos of a teenage female victim through Kik Messenger, a web-based messaging service.

Clem also admitted to communicating with a third teenage victim through Kik Messenger in the spring and fall of 2014. Clem exchanged sexually graphic text messages and images with the teenager and met her on multiple occasions to engage in sexual intercourse.

The charging statute provides a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and no greater than 30 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 on each count. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Clem will be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years and no greater than 21 years in prison if the Court accepts the agreement.

As part of his plea agreement, Clem also faces state child rape charges in the Worcester Superior Court. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section lead the effort, marshaling federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.

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