Matthew Gamel, 36, of Pevely has admitted to recording the sexual abuse of a child and possessing child pornography, court records show.
Gamel pleaded guilty Tuesday, Feb. 20, to sexual exploitation of a minor and receipt of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, according to court records.
According to the guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Gamel’s lawyer are recommending Gamel be sentenced to 25 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release and all applicable restitution and assessments.
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 recorded the abuse of the victim at least four times and having more than 1,700 media files containing child sexual abuse material that he obtained online, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.
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.
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, visit justice.gov/psc.