Pittsburgh Man Indicted in Project Safe Childhood Case

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of production and attempted production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The three-count Indictment, returned on September 16 and unsealed October 5, named Matthew Joseph Gourley, age 48, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, on January 6, 2020, January 14, 2020 and March 2, 2020, Gourley coerced Minor A, a minor female victim, to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction, namely, digital images and videos, depicting Minor A engaging in sexually explicit content.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 15 years in prison but not more than 90 years in prison, a fine of $750,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Allegheny County Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.