Sheriff's Investigator Stops 'Parents Worst Nightmare'

RACINE COUNTY, WI — A 31-year-old that told investigators that he's "always been attracted to minors" was arrested after it was revealed that he had been chatting online with a Sheriff's Investigator, instead of the 15-year-old girl he thought he was going to meet for sex.

On Monday June 19, at approximately 4:00pm, Investigators from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office arrested Matteo Garcia, 31, of Milwaukee for Attempted 2nd Degree Sexual Assault of a Child and Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime, and Attempted Child Enticement.

According to the Racine County Sheriff, Garcia traveled from Milwaukee with the intent to meet with a 15-year-old girl for sex. Authorities say Garcia had been chatting online with a Racine County Sheriff’s Investigator since February 2017.

The Investigator was posing as a 15-year-old girl. According to Sheriff reports, during the conversations, Garcia asked about taking the girl’s virginity and buying her Plan B as birth control.

Once Garcia was taken into custody, Search Warrants were served on his cell phone and his residence in Milwaukee. Multiple images of child pornography were obtained at his residence and the cell phone he had in his possession. During the interview, Garcia admitted to being in possession of Child Pornography and stated, “I’ve always been attracted to minors”.

Sheriff Christopher Schmaling states, “our elite ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Detectives were able to halt what could have been a heinous crime against a young child, stop a parent’s worst nightmare from becoming reality, and get the lowest of low criminals behind bars and off our streets”.

This incident is still under investigation by the Racine County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Bureau.

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