United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2010 http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

FORMER DALLAS COUNTY DETENTION OFFICER ADMITS
ENTICING MINOR GIRL TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTS

FORT WORTH, Texas — Roy Mathew, 31, of Rowlett, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge John McBryde to an indictment charging one count of enticement of a child, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Mathew faces a minimum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for July 9, 2010. Mathew was taken into custody after his guilty plea.

According to documents filed in the case, on September 4, 2009, a Fort Worth Police Department Detective, in an undercover capacity, assumed the role of a 13-year-old girl in a chat room on the Internet. Over the course of the following week, Mathew communicated with the undercover officer, believing the officer to be a 13-year-old girl. The conversations turned sexually graphic. Mathew stated that he would like to perform sexual acts with the girl and showed her sexually explicit photos of himself. Mathew arranged to meet her at a convenience store in Fort Worth, Texas.

On the day of the meeting, September 11, 2009, Mathew arrived at the specified location and was arrested. A digital camera and condoms were located in his vehicle. A search warrant was then executed at his residence and images of a young teenage girl that were sent by the Fort Worth officer were located on his computer. At the time of his arrest, Mathew was employed as a Dallas County Detention Officer.

In a post-arrest interview, Mathew verified his computer screen name, admitted he was communicating with someone who he believed was a thirteen (13) year-old girl and admitted to sending, via web-cam, images of himself masturbating.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/

The case is being investigated by the Fort Worth Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis is in charge of the prosecution.

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