Press Release
Rochester Man Pleads Guilty To Sex Trafficking A Minor
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Matthew DiFlorio, 28, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor using a means and facility of interstate commerce before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charge carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who is handling the case, stated that in June 2015, the mother of a thirteen year old minor advised the Rochester Police Department that her child had been communicating with two men. According to the mother, one of the two men, DiFlorio, was working as a Lifetouch school photographer and the mother had, at one point, attempted to contact DiFlorio to tell him to stay away from her child. According to the minor, the minor had communicated with the defendant using the application “Kik” and ended up meeting him in February 2015.
After taking over the minor’s phone, law enforcement officers received a text message from DiFlorio on June 22, 2015. An officer, assumed the minor’s identity and engaged in texts with DiFlorio. The two arranged a meeting for June 23, 2015 at a local fast food restaurant. The defendant arrived at the meeting and was confronted by law enforcement officers. DiFlorio admitted to having had sex with the minor and admitted to engaging in communications with the minor through text messages in order to meet.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen. The task force includes members of the FBI, the Rochester Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2015, before Judge Wolford.
Updated December 18, 2015
Topic
Human Trafficking
Component