Matthew Gamel, 36, of Pevely has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for recording sexual abuse of a child and possessing child pornography. He had more than 1,700 media files containing child sexual abuse material that he obtained online, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Gamel on Wednesday, May 22, in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri. In February, Gamel pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and receipt of child pornography.
“We are pleased with today’s sentencing and appreciate the hard work and partnership with the Pevely Police Department to bring justice to the victim,” said Chris Crocker, acting special agent of the FBI’s St. Louis Division. “We hope this will help with the process of healing the trauma the defendant unconscionably inflicted on a young vulnerable child.”
Gamel coerced a girl, who was younger than 14, into producing child pornography between January 2021 and summer 2023 and also received child pornography during that same time frame, the guilty plea said.
Gamel recorded the abuse of the victim at least four times, according to the guilty plea.
The Pevely Police and FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. attorney Michael Hayes prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc.