Seattle – A 34-year-old former resident of Buckley, Washington, was convicted late Friday, October 8, 2021, of attempted enticement of a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown. Taylor J. Matson was arrested in February 2019, following an undercover investigation by the Seattle Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force. The jury deliberated about three hours following a three-day trial. U.S. District Judge James L. Robart scheduled sentencing for January 25, 2022.
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, Matson responded to an advertisement posted on the internet ostensibly from the mother of three young children. The ad used terms to imply the children would be made available for sex with adults. The advertisement was actually posted by an undercover detective. Matson made clear, via his communication both online and via text message, that he wanted to sexually assault the fictitious 12-year-old girl. Matson met with the undercover detective at a bar to further the plan. He fulfilled various requirements posed by the detective, such as obtaining sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing, and bringing condoms to the scheduled meet. On February 6, 2019, Matson went to a hotel in south Seattle where he believed he would have sex with the child. He was arrested when he entered the hotel room.
Enticement of a minor is punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison and up to life in prison. Judge Robart will determine the appropriate sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the Seattle Police Department and the FBI.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson and Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon. Ms. Harmon is a King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute child exploitation cases in federal court.
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