A Hemet man who “catfished” a pre-teen girl online and persuaded her to send him sexually explicit photos of herself and her 5-year-old sister pleaded guilty Friday to production of child pornography.
John Mathew Piecuch, 64, admitted the felony count during a hearing at U.S. District Court in Santa Ana. Federal prosecutors agreed to drop two related charges under the plea agreement.
Federal Judge John Holcomb scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 25. Piecuch is facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The defendant remains held without bail at a federal detention center.
Court filings by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI said that Piecuch was using the online gaming platform Roblox in December 2020 when he met the victim, identified only as a Carroll County, Maryland, girl.
The defendant convinced her that he was a 13-year-old boy, and the two then engaged in a series of text messages, through which he coaxed her into sending him sexually explicit images of herself, and additionally convinced her to snap explicit photos of her 5-year-old sister, also not identified, and send him those, according to court papers.
The girl’s mother uncovered the texts in January 2021 and immediately reported the activity to her local sheriff’s office, whose personnel contacted the FBI, culminating in an investigation by the Inland Regional Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force. That led to a search of Piecuch’s residence at 26216 Frazier St., court papers stated.
He was arrested without incident and ultimately indicted.
“This defendant has admitted his despicable acts and now will face a significant prison sentence,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “I urge parents everywhere to be vigilant when it comes to their children’s online usage. Predators lurk in the shadows and use the internet’s cloak of anonymity to inflict life-long trauma.”
Piecuch has no documented prior felony convictions.
