RIVERSIDE – A 61-year-old Hemet man was indicted today on child pornography charges involving alleged online encounters with a girl who gave him photos of herself and a younger relative.
John Matthew Piecuch was arrested on Aug. 4 following an FBI investigation.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges the receipt of child porn, as well as production of child porn and attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Piecuch is being held without bail at a federal detention center in San Bernardino and is slated to be arraigned Aug. 24 at U.S. District Court in Riverside.
Federal prosecutors allege the defendant posed as a 13-year-old boy in an online gaming platform, where he connected with the 12-year-old victim, identified only as a Maryland girl, in the fall of 2020,
Piecuch allegedly persuaded the child to communicate with him via text messaging, after which he solicited “sexually explicit photos from the girl, who also sent sexually explicit photos of a 5-year-old relative,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The girl’s mother spotted one of the texts and contacted law enforcement, prosecutors said.
FBI agents amassed sufficient evidence to obtain an arrest warrant, which was followed by the grand jury proceedings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
If convicted of all three counts, Piecuch could face life in federal prison.
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