INDIANAPOLIS — A Greensburg man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor.
Matthew Hostetler, 26, pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a minor over social media apps.
According to court documents, on Jan. 16, 2020, a Winnebago County, Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department investigation uncovered Hostetler’s involvement in a Kik Messenger group chat created for individuals interested in child sexual abuse material.
Hostetler hid behind the username “WARRIORHEART1997” and sent graphic sexual abuse videos and images of a then 11-year-old girl.
On April 16, 2021, FBI agents and Greensburg Police Department Officers executed a search warrant at Hostetler’s Indiana home and seized his cell phone.
Many of the images Hostetler traded over Kik were coerced from the minor via Snapchat. Hostetler bragged to other members of the group chat that “it took two months to get to this point with her, you gotta be patient and kind and sweet,” and “she’s in love with me. She literally jumps to do what I ask.”
The girl told investigators she met Hostetler on the internet. She told him that she was 13 years old and lived with her grandparents in Oklahoma.
Hostetler instructed her not to tell her Grandparents she was talking to him, or she would get in trouble, court documents said.
The girl stated that Hostetler routinely threated her if she did not send him sexually explicit images and videos and he coached her on what to do.
“It has long been the case that many pedophiles like this defendant use online platforms such as Kik and Snapchat to prey on children, and even preteens,” said Zachary Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “These criminals use lies, manipulation, and threats to sexually exploit children with utter disregard for the lasting trauma they inflict. I urge parents and guardians to talk to the children in their lives about what they’re doing online and make sure they have trusted adults they can turn to for help."
