INDIANAPOLIS – Matthew Hostetler, 26, of Greensburg, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court documents, on January 16, 2020, a Winnebago County, Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department investigation uncovered Matthew Hostetler’s involvement in a Kik Messenger group chat created for individuals interested in child sexual abuse material. Hostetler hid behind the username “WARRIORHEART1997” and sent graphic sexual abuse videos and images of a then 11-year-old girl he referred to as “Lola.”
On April 16, 2021, FBI agents and Greensburg Police Department Officers executed a search warrant at Hostetler’s Indiana home and seized his cell phone. Many of the images Hostetler traded over Kik were coerced from the minor via Snapchat. Hostetler bragged to other members of the group chat that “it took two months to get to this point with her (Lola), you gotta be patient and kind and sweet,” and “she’s in love with me. She literally jumps to do what I ask.”
“Lola” told investigators that she met Hostetler on the Internet. She told him that she was 13 years old and lived with her grandparents in Oklahoma. Hostetler instructed her not to tell her grandparents she was talking to him, or she would get in trouble. “Lola” stated that Hostetler routinely threatened her if she did not send him sexually explicit images and videos. Further, Hostetler coached the 11-year-old on where to touch herself during the videos.
In addition to the 25-year sentence, the judge in the case also ordered that Hostetler be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 30 years following his release from prison. Hostetler must also register as a sex offender where he lives, works, and goes to school.
