Man’s Online Romance With Teen Ends In Arrest: Sheriff

VENICE, FL — A 37-year-old Lake Worth man faces criminal charges after Sarasota County deputies say he struck up a relationship with a 16-year-old girl from North Carolina over the internet. The man is also accused of tracking the girl’s movements electronically while she was vacationing in Venice and making an attempt to meet her in person.

According to the sheriff’s office, detectives were tipped off about John D. Mattaliano’s alleged activities when he showed up in Venice on April 21. Deputies received a call from a resident who said an “unknown male” was hiding in woods in the area of East Venice Avenue. After responding to the call, deputies learned the man was allegedly there to meet with a 16-year-old girl from North Carolina who was vacationing at the caller’s home.

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Detectives interviewed the girl on April 21 and again the next day. She allegedly told them she met Mattaliano in an online teen chat room when she was 15. The girl told deputies she made her age know to Mattaliano, who allegedly told her he was 17. Mattaliano, however, later told the girl he was 26 and then “finally the truth that he was 37,” an arrest report said.

After the admission of Mattaliano’s age, the girl said the two continued to chat and “the online relationship became romantic.” Mattaliano, the report said, bought the girl a cellular phone and started a social media account so the two could contact each other. In addition to chatting, Mattaliano is also accused of sending the girl naked pictures of himself, including “no less than two pictures while she was in Sarasota County.”

The girl told deputies the phone Mattaliano gave her was also able to track her movements, the report noted. It seems when he showed up at her family friend’s door in Venice, the girl became scared and told the person she was vacationing with what had been going on, the report said.

When questioned, Mattaliano admitted to the girl’s claims, including sending nude photos, the arrest report said. “The defendant further explained how he used the cellular telephone’s tracking system to locate the victim as she traveled throughout the county,” the report said. “He detailed how they contacted one another throughout her vacation and their final plan to be together.”

Matalliano also allegedly admitted to knowing the girl was only 16 when he traveled to meet her, the report added.

He was charged with prohibited computer usage, traveling to meet a minor and transmission of material harmful to minors by electronic device. He remained in the Sarasota County Jail on Monday, according to jail records. Bond had been set at $59,000.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office