Timothy Streitmatter, Sex Trafficking of a Child, Pennsylvania 2022

SCRANTON, PA – Timothy Streitmatter, age 44, of Peoria, Illinois, was found guilty on September 16, 2022, of attempting to online entice and sex traffic a child, after a five-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, jurors deliberated for a little more than an hour before rendering guilty verdicts against Streitmatter for using the internet and an electronic device to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a person who he believed to be 13 years old to engage in unlawful sexual activity, and to engage in a commercial sex act in exchange for U.S. currency.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office offered testimony from multiple special agents from the FBI-Allentown Office and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, and an FBI special agent from the Philadelphia Office who offered expert testimony in cell phone forensics and undercover online child exploitation investigations.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Philadelphia Division, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Olshefski and Sean Camoni prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

The maximum penalty under federal law is life in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, sex offender registration under the Adam Walsh Act, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

Related Federal Cases