Hemet man admits 'catfishing' 12-year-old girl for explicit photos

A Hemet man who "catfished" a pre-teen girl online and persuaded her to send him sexually explicit photos of herself and one of her 5-year-old relatives pleaded guilty Friday to production of child pornography.

John Mathew Piecuch, 64, faces between 15 and 30 years in federal prison when he is sentenced Oct. 25 in Santa Ana, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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Prosecutors said Piecuch met the 12-year-old victim on the online gaming platform Roblox and told her he was a 13-year-old boy. The online meeting led to a text exchange in January 2021 in which he persuaded the girl to send him sexually explicit photos of herself, along with explicit photos of a 5-year-old female relative.

The 12-year-old girl's mother eventually saw some of the text messages and contacted authorities, prosecutors said.

Piecuch has been in federal custody since August 2021.

"This defendant has admitted his despicable acts and now will face a significant prison sentence," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. "I urge parents everywhere to be vigilant when it comes to their children's online usage. Predators lurk in the shadows and use the internet's cloak of anonymity to inflict life-long trauma."

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