TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tallahassee investigation has led to the sentencing of a New York man to 40 years in federal prison for enticing and exploiting multiple child victims over the internet, traveling to Florida to have sex with a child, and other child sexual assault material offenses.
Matthew Gabriel Bergida, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 480 months in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of children, enticement of a minor, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transportation of child sexual assault material and possession of child sexual abuse material.
“This predator used manipulation and control to sexually exploit children for his own perverse carnal gratification,” said HSI Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “The sexual exploitation of children is an especially heinous crime that robs victims of their childhood. HSI, alongside our partners with Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Perry Police Department, will continue to exhaust every resource at our disposal to identify and support victims, as well as locate and apprehend the monstruous predators who seek to do them harm.”
Court documents reflect that when Hurricane Idalia, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall near Perry on Aug. 30, 2023, Bergida traveled to the area to meet with a minor girl to have sexual relations. While enforcing the storm-related curfew, local law enforcement encountered the girl and learned of Bergida’s sexual exploitation of the child. Law enforcement quickly located and arrested Bergida at a local motel. A search of Bergida’s iPhone revealed child sexual abuse material depicting the girl and over 20 other children he had been sexually exploiting since 2019.
“There is no greater charge than the protection of our children,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Jason R. Coody. “This sentence is yet another example of the unwavering commitment to the protection of our most vulnerable and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would attempt to harm them. I commend our local and state law enforcement partners, who amid a devastating hurricane, identified and rescued a child who was being sexually abused. Their keen observations not only saved this child, but countless others from the heinous conduct of this pedophile predator.”
While incarcerated in the Taylor County Jail, Bergida made phone calls to family in which he directed a friend to dispose of hard drives and other storage devices in his Brooklyn apartment. Based on these phone calls, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the apartment and found electronic storage devices containing additional child sexual abuse material, some which depicted infants and toddlers.
Bergida’s prison sentence will be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. He will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to all sex offender conditions. The court also ordered forfeiture of various electronic devices that he used to commit the offenses.
“No law enforcement agency or community is immune regardless of size or location from the evil exploits of those who endeavor to harm and purse children for exploitation,” said Perry Police Chief Jamie Cruse. “I also commend everyone involved for their meritorious actions in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting Bergida for his choice to victimize others. The awareness, determination and expertise of all assisting agencies and law enforcement partners in this investigation was necessary to bring this predator to justice while protecting others from future victimization. When full cooperation and communication is paramount in protecting our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, law enforcement can and does make a difference by fulfilling the mission of protecting the life and rights of everyone in society.”
Coody announced the sentence. This conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by HSI Tallahassee, the Perry Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case.