Kennett man sentenced to 20 years for sexual abuse of 13 year old
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A Kennett man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for recording his sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl and recording other children in the shower.
U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp sentenced Matthew A. Prewett, 43, on Feb. 21.
Prewett engaged in sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl beginning in April of 2022, and recorded his crimes on video, according to the U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming with the Eastern District of Missouri.
He also placed hidden cameras in his home, including in the bathroom, and recorded children between ages 12 and 17 while they were nude and showering, according to a news release from Fleming’s office.
The investigation began after the victim’s mother found sexually suggestive text messages from Prewett on her daughter’s phone.
Prewett pleaded guilty in November to a felony charge of sexual exploitation of a minor.
The Kennett Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. It is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc.
