Matthew Gamel, 36, of Pevely has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing a child and receiving child pornography, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office announced.
Gamel entered his plea Tuesday, Dec. 5, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was indicted on Nov. 8 on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and receipt of child pornography, court records show.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Noelle Collins ordered Gamel to be held in jail until trial, according to court documents. Court records do not list a trial date.
The sexual exploitation of a minor charge is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison. The receipt of child pornography charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
Gamel is accused of coercing a girl, who was younger than 14, into producing child pornography between January 2021 and February 2023. The indictment also said he allegedly received child pornography during that same time frame.
The Pevely Police and FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. attorney Michael Hayes is handling 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, go to justice.gov/psc.