CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Brian Mathew Wittmann, 33, of Madison, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today to traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 11, 2022, Wittman contacted an individual he believed to be a minor female on Instagram after finding her profile. Wittman admitted that he asked for the minor female’s phone number and began sending her text messages that included a photo of his genitals. Wittman further admitted that he continued to text the minor female for about a week, seeking to entice her into engaging in illicit sexual conduct with him.
On May 19, 2022, Wittman arranged by text message to meet the minor female the following day at a location in Nicholas County, West Virginia, to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Wittman admitted to driving the next day from North Carolina to Nicholas County, where he was met by law enforcement officers. Wittman admitted that he told the officers that he had sent sexually explicit messages to the minor female as well as to other minor females on Instagram. Officer searched Wittman’s vehicle and found condoms, blankets, a pillow and a morning-after pill, a type of emergency birth control. Wittman admitted to buying the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy.
Wittman is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 2, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine. Wittman must also register as a sex offender.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Violent Crime Against Children (VCAC) Task Force.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White is prosecuting the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-120.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
