Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced To Thirty Years In Federal Prison For Sexual Exploitation Of Multiple Minors

Greenbelt, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Matthew Molnar, age 47, of Hagerstown, Maryland to thirty years in federal prison, followed by fifteen years of supervised release, for sexual exploitation of a child.  He is ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.  Judge Chuang also ordered that, upon his release from prison, Molnar must continue to register as a sex offender in the places where he resides and where he is an employee pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).

The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, Michael McCarthy of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore, and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to the guilty plea, in 2015, Molnar was convicted of possession of child pornography.  In 2020 and 2021, Molnar communicated with a Florida-based minor victim and coerced the minor victim to produce sexually explicit videos.  In May 2021, Molnar traveled to visit the minor victim, telling the victim, falsely, that he was 17-years-old and was studying pre-law.  In February 2022, Molnar started communicating with a Maryland-based minor victim, exchanging sexually explicit messages with her.  Also, in February 2022, Molnar had sexual intercourse with the minor on multiple occasions. During a subsequent search warrant at Molnar’s house, law enforcement found multiple sexually explicit files that included the minor victim.  In reviewing Molnar’s electronic devices seized during the search warrant, law enforcement also determined that Molnar had distributed numerous files containing child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative established by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

U.S. Attorney Barron commended the FBI, HSI and Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Sarma is leading the prosecution of this federal case.  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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