Agents say the girl was rescued from a Castaic motel after a family tip and fast tracking work by FBI and sheriff’s deputies.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Federal prosecutors say an 18-year-old man from Pennsylvania was arrested in a Castaic motel room after traveling to Los Angeles County to meet a girl who had recently turned 13, following months of online grooming that included sexual demands and pressure to hurt herself.
Authorities said the case shows how quickly online contact can move into real-world danger when a young victim is isolated and manipulated. Investigators said the girl’s mother contacted the FBI after seeing messages that raised fears of self-harm, and officers reached the motel before a planned act of violence could be carried out. The man, Matthew Edward Pysher of Bangor, Pennsylvania, is accused of traveling to engage in illegal sexual conduct and now faces a federal felony charge carrying up to 30 years in prison.
According to court filings described by prosecutors, Pysher began communicating with the girl in December 2025 after meeting her on the Discord platform. The messages escalated from public chat to private conversations, investigators said, and the man pushed the child to send sexually explicit images and videos. Prosecutors said he also urged her to cut herself and share images of that self-harm. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the allegations were “chilling,” describing the online pressure as a form of predation that can pull a child toward danger in a matter of weeks.
The investigation started moving faster on Feb. 10, prosecutors said, when the girl’s mother contacted the FBI with concerns about a person the girl knew as “Matthew.” Agents and local investigators worked to identify the account and trace it to Pysher, authorities said. On Feb. 20, prosecutors said, Pysher flew from Philadelphia to Los Angeles and met the girl near her home before taking her to a motel in Castaic, in the Santa Clarita Valley area. In a coordinated response late that day, law enforcement entered the room and found the teen and the man together.
Inside, investigators said they found items that supported the account laid out in court papers, including condoms, lubricant, razor blades, bloody tissues and a knife. Prosecutors also said officers located a boarding pass for the cross-country flight and a faraday bag near the man’s cellphone, a signal-blocking pouch sometimes used to limit tracking or data access. The girl told investigators that she and Pysher had engaged in sexual conduct, prosecutors said, and that he used a knife to cut her repeatedly. Authorities said the girl was removed from the room and taken to safety.
In statements read by prosecutors and in interviews with local media, officials said the communications and the alleged violence aligned with what they described as nihilistic violent extremist behavior, sometimes shortened to NVE. Investigators said their review of the girl’s phone and the man’s online activity led them to believe he was connected to that ideology. Prosecutors described “764” as a network that law enforcement links to abuse and coercion, including sexual exploitation and pressure to self-harm. Akil Davis, the FBI’s assistant director in charge in Los Angeles, said the arrest fit a pattern in which vulnerable minors are targeted and pushed into increasingly harmful acts.
Authorities also described a race against time once the girl left home. In one account of the events, officials said family members discovered a note and reported that the child had run away, escalating the urgency of the search. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the outcome could have been far worse if the rescue had come later, and he credited quick coordination between federal agents and local deputies as well as the “vigilant mother” who contacted law enforcement when she saw troubling messages. Investigators have not publicly identified the girl because she is a minor.
Pysher was arrested late Friday in Castaic and was expected to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, prosecutors said. The charge filed against him is travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. A criminal complaint is an allegation, and Pysher is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors said the case remains under investigation as agents review electronic records and trace online contacts and accounts linked to the communications.
In court filings and public comments, officials described the alleged communications as part of a broader threat that crosses state lines and moves quickly between online contact and in-person harm. Essayli said the messages in the case showed an intent to exploit and control a child. Davis said investigators are focused on identifying other potential victims and associates who may have encouraged or amplified the abuse. Authorities have not detailed what additional charges, if any, could be filed as the investigation continues.
By Tuesday, the girl was reported to be safe, and investigators were continuing to review devices and online records connected to the case. The next public milestone is expected in federal court as the charge moves forward through the early hearing stages.
Author note: Last updated February 24, 2026.