MADISON, WIS. – A New Mexico man has been sentenced to 51 months in prison for traveling from New Mexico to Wisconsin with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
Matthew Engelhardt, 33, of Roswell, New Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Peterson on June 30, 2021. Engelhardt pleaded guilty to this charge on December 6, 2021.
The investigation revealed that Engelhardt had been communicating with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl on Facebook Messenger since April 2019. During the conversations, Engelhardt asked the undercover persona if she would have sex with him. The conversations continued on and off until Engelhardt told the undercover persona that he would be coming to Wisconsin to visit his sister at the end of June and asked if she would see him.
The two arranged to meet at a retail store in Janesville, Wisconsin to have sex in the bathroom. On June 30, 2021, undercover officers saw Engelhardt leave a motel in Janesville and run to the retail store where he was arrested. Agents found a condom in his pocket.
The charge against Engelhardt was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation, Janesville Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case.
According to Judge Peterson, a sentence of more than four years was sufficient to ensure the defendant knew that what he did was wrong.
Engelhardt’s sentence will be followed by 20 years of supervised release.
Related Federal Cases
- John Doe, Sex Trafficking of a Minor, Wisconsin 2023 · Connecticut
- Robert Paul Dicerni, Meeting a Minor for Sex, California 2023 · North Carolina
- Loxahatchee Man Sentenced to 235 Months in Prison for Enticing Minor to Engage in Sex · North Carolina
- Cornelius M. Jackson, Sex Trafficking, Wisconsin 2020 · California
- John Doe, Making False Statements in Sex Trafficking Case, New York 2022 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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