Overview
- Matthew Edward Pysher, 18, of Bangor, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday and made an initial court appearance Monday in Los Angeles.
- Pysher is charged by federal complaint with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a felony carrying up to 30 years in prison.
- Prosecutors allege he groomed the 13-year-old after meeting on a mental-health Discord server in December 2025 and coerced explicit and self-harm images.
- The girl’s mother alerted the FBI on Feb. 10; on Feb. 20 Pysher flew from Philadelphia, met the girl near her home, and took her to a Castaic motel.
- Officers recovered condoms, a knife, razor blades, lubricant, bloody tissues, a boarding pass, and a Faraday bag, and the victim reported sexual conduct and knife cuts.