Pennsylvania man, 18, traveled to California to have sex with girl, 13, then commit suicide with her: DOJ

Warning: This story discusses suicide and self-harm. Viewer discretion is advised.

A Pennsylvania man is accused by federal prosecutors of traveling to California to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, and both would have ended up committing suicide had law enforcement not intervened.

On Monday morning, U.S. Department of Justice officials held a news conference and released a complaint charging Matthew Edward Pysher. The complaint, filed Sunday in Los Angeles, accuses Pischel, 18, of traveling with the intent to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.

According to the complaint, Pysher tricked and encouraged a girl, who was listed as a “minor victim,” to send him sexually explicit material and images of self-harm through a Discord server. Discord is an instant messaging and voice communication platform.

The complaint alleges that the victim met Pysher on a server associated with people suffering from mental illness.

“Among other things, Pysher specifically encouraged minor Victim One to engage in self-harm through chat messages, including setting up a Discord server, [the victim] The victim may have been filmed cutting herself with a razor blade, the complaint said, adding that the victim had recently turned 13.

The abuse culminated when Pischel traveled from eastern Pennsylvania, specifically the Bangor area, to Los Angeles to engage in sexual acts with the young girl, the indictment explains. Pysher and an unnamed co-conspirator arrived in Los Angeles on February 20; they picked up the victim near her home and drove her to a Rodeway motel in Castaic.

The exact location where the girl was picked up was not disclosed.

According to the complaint, law enforcement received emergency information and located Pischel and an underage victim at the motel.

“And in the room [were] “Condoms, a knife, lubricant, razor blades, bloody tissues and a boarding pass in Pysher’s name for American Airlines flight AA827 from Philadelphia to Los Angeles,” the complaint states. A Faraday bag, which blocks electronic signals, was also found near Pysher’s cell phone.

After the young girl was found in Castaic, she told law enforcement that Pischel came to California specifically to visit her and perform sexual acts with her. Additionally, in a chilling twist, the girl said they had planned to commit suicide together but failed because law enforcement discovered them.

“Minor Victim No. 1 also told law enforcement that she and Pischel engaged in sexual conduct and that Pischel cut her multiple times with a knife,” the complaint states.

Minor Victim One may not have been Pysher’s only victim; officials said Pysher was “associated with nihilistic violent extremist ideologies” and that his digital devices “may contain evidence related to the crime, including information about other minor victims.”

Additional information released in the complaint provides additional context to the case, including Pischel’s online alias “Piano.Man,” and the revelation that the victim’s grandfather discovered the suicide note and discovered that she ran away the same day Pischel came to California.

In a press release issued on Monday, the Justice Department explained that the teenage suspect is a member of a Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) group known as the 764, whose members, according to federal officials, “engage in criminal conduct within and outside the United States to promote political, social, or religious goals that are primarily motivated by hatred of society at large and the desire to cause social collapse by spreading indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability.”

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“NVEs frequently target vulnerable populations, including minors, and often use social media platforms to share child sexual abuse or graphic material, or to lead victims to commit acts of violence,” the DOJ said in a news release. “NVEs and their members frequently extort or extort victims into complying with NVE demands, which vary but may include self-harm, online and in-person sex, harm to animals, sexual exploitation of siblings and others, acts of violence and threats of violence, suicide, and murder.”

Federal officials called the case “chilling” at a news conference in Los Angeles on Monday and showed messages between Pischel and the young girl, including ones in which he appeared to defend his bloodthirsty behavior.

“[It’s] Hard to explain haha. I like the color first, haha. I just think red is a really pretty color and I love how the blood looks on the skin,” one message read on January 24. “I think the blade is hot and I love having someone do something like this for me. “

“That last one is the important part,” he added. “In fact, this is for I Make me like it. “

Other messages shown at Monday’s news conference include Pischel telling the victim “You can go as deep or as shallow as you want <3," referring to the girl cutting herself.

“I love scratches, cuts and pretty much anything else lol,” read another message sent on January 24, minutes after the above message. “Some people do better at different times. I’m not picky.”

Horrifyingly, the young victim responded: “I just want to be the best for you lol.”

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The disturbing case is a reminder for parents to monitor their children’s online activity, officials said at a news conference Monday.

“If your children have access to the Internet, sadistic predators may have access to your children,” said Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. “Law enforcement will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to harm children. We advise parents to keep their children off the Internet.”

“The suspects arrested this weekend are among a growing number of so-called nihilistic violent extremists who target children and induce them to engage in compromising sexual behaviors and self-harm,” added Aguirre Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “Online violent exploitation of our children through manipulation, coercion, and fear has absolutely no place in our communities, whether on our streets or behind computer screens.”

Pischel will make his first court appearance Monday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles and faces up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted.

If you or someone you know is struggling, there is help available. In the United States and Canada, you can call 988 or text at any time.

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