{"id":122904,"date":"2026-02-25T09:19:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/122904\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:19:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:19:22","slug":"pa-man-linked-to-nve-group-flies-to-la-for-sex-with-13-year-old-he-groomed-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/122904\/","title":{"rendered":"PA man linked to NVE group flies to LA for sex with 13-year-old he ‘groomed’: DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

PENNSYLVANIA (WHP) \u2014 A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was rescued from a Santa Clarity Valley motel after reportedly encouraging her to harm herself, according to the Department of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matthew Pysher, 18, of Bangor, was arrested late Feb. 20 in Castaic, California, and is facing federal charges after reportedly grooming the girl to send him sexually explicit material and images of self-harm over the internet, the DOJ announced in a release.<\/p>\n

The release claimed that he routinely subjected the girl to a pattern of abuse and self-harm encouragement consistent with nihilistic violent extremism (NVE). Prosecutors said Pysher’s actions suggest he is associated with NVE ideologies, based on a search of his phone and his online activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe subject arrested this weekend is one of a growing number of alleged nihilistic violent extremists who prey on children and talk them into compromising sex acts and self-mutilation,\u201d said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI\u2019s Los Angeles Field Office. \u201cThe FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to finding and holding accountable these sadistic predators and ensuring they face serious consequences for their vile acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

While citing an affidavit, the DOJ said that from December 2025 until Feb. 20, Pysher groomed and encouraged the girl to send him media showing her engaging in sexually explicit acts. He also routinely would encourage her to cut herself and engage in acts of self-harm.<\/p>\n

Her mother contacted the FBI on Feb. 10 after growing more concerned that her daughter was being urged to harm herself by “Matthew” on Discord. The DOJ noted that the girl found Matthew on a Discord server related to individuals suffering from mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe facts charged in this case are chilling,\u201d said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. \u201cIf your children have access to use the internet, sadistic predators may have access to your kids. Law enforcement will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to harm children. We advise parents to keep their kids offline.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Feb. 20, Pysher traveled to Los Angeles to engage in sexual activity with the girl. He met her that same day near her home and took her to a motel in Castaic.<\/p>\n

When authorities arrived at the motel, they found Pysher and the girl with condoms, a knife, lubricant, razor blades, bloody tissues, and a boarding pass showing his flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Also in the room, authorities said they found a “Faraday” bag, which is commonly used to block electronic signals, near Pysher’s phone. <\/p>\n

While speaking with the girl, she told authorities she and Pysher had reportedly engaged in sexual activity, and he used a knife to repeatedly cut her.<\/p>\n

A criminal complaint detailed that NVE groups, including “764,” a group in the U.S. that exists primarily due to a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring it to its collapse by spreading chaos, destruction, and social instability.<\/p>\n

\u201cViolent online exploitation that targets our children through manipulation, coercion, and fear has absolutely no place in our communities, whether on our streets or behind a computer screen,\u201d said Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna. \u201cBecause of the swift and coordinated efforts of local and federal law enforcement, and the decisive action of a vigilant mother who immediately contacted law enforcement, this young victim was safely recovered, and further harm was prevented. We will continue to work with our local and federal partners, using every investigative tool available, to protect our youth and hold predators accountable in Los Angeles County.\u201d<\/p>\n

NVE members have often been found to target vulnerable individuals, including minors, and frequently use social media to share sexual abuse and\/or graphic material to steer victims to commit violent acts. They routinely extort or blackmail victims into complying with their demands, including self-mutilation, sexual acts, harming animals, and sexual exploitation of others. Victims have also been known to be steered toward committing acts of violence, including murder and death by suicide.<\/p>\n

Pysher was charged with traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and could face up to 30 years in prison. According to the FBI in Los Angeles, it is believed that Pysher may have more victims.<\/p>\n

The DOJ told CBS 21 that he appeared in court Monday afternoon and has been jailed without bond. He is due to appear in court again at 2:30 p.m. ET on March 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PENNSYLVANIA (WHP) \u2014 A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after a 13-year-old girl was rescued from a Santa…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-122904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}