A 24-year-old California man is facing federal charges after allegedly distributing nude pictures of a Sangamon County minor and crossing state lines to meet the underage subject for sexual acts. In September 2022, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a man had reportedly been communicating with the minor through social media and had traveled to meet the minor for sexual acts.

The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office – Investigations Division opened an investigation and after gathering digital evidence, detectives identified the suspect as 24-year-old, Matthew M. Rodriguez of Sylmar, California. Since Rodriguez crossed state lines, the case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). On April 3, Rodriguez was arrested at a Springfield home and was charged with the following:  transportation of minors, enticement of a minor and transfer of obscene material to a minor.