How a Raleigh man helped run a child abuse site on the dark web in global scheme
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- FBI arrested 18 people in a global sting targeting child abuse on the dark web.
- Matthew Garrell helped manage a site that circulated vast illegal abuse content.
- Garrell was sentenced to over 20 years and owes restitution to 25 known victims.
A national FBI sting ended Wednesday after capturing more than a dozen child predators, including a Raleigh man, officials announced.
The 18 people arrested and convicted through “Operation Grayskull” included 38-year-old Matthew Branden Garrell, who was charged in February 2023 with conspiring to advertise child pornography and conspiring to distribute child pornography, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Garrell, an N.C. State University graduate who studied psychology, was one of four men accused of managing a site on the dark web that shared tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of images of child sexual abuse material, court documents show.
The website, referred to as “Website A” in court documents, had at least 100 users from across the globe who exchanged the material and offered tips and encouragement on how to abuse children, focusing on infants and toddlers.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the operation “one of the most significant strikes ever made against online child exploitation networks.”
“We’ve not only dismantled dangerous platforms on the dark web, but we’ve also brought key perpetrators to justice and delivered a powerful message: You cannot hide behind anonymity to harm children,” Patel said in the release.
Garrell admitted to FBI agents he began using the website in 2019 and accessed it and at least six other child exploitation websites until his arrest. A search warrant uncovered over 20,000 files of child sexual abuse material on his devices and a guide called “The Pedophile’s Handbook,” which offered instructions on how to groom and abuse children, according to court documents.
“In total, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children identified more than 375 known victims in Garrell’s collection of CSAM [child sexual abuse material],” prosecutors wrote.
Garrell became a moderator on Website A in June 2022, advising users on how to share abuse material and on the rules of the site.
Website A shut down in November 2022., according to investigators. It’s not clear when it started operating.
Garrell’s defense attorney argued he struggled throughout his life to fit in, falling into a depression while attending N.C. State and eventually leaving his job in Atlanta to move back in with his parents after his mental health worsened, according to a motion for a lighter sentence.
Garrell pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced Aug. 1, 2023, to 20 years and 10 months in prison. He must pay $158,500 in restitution to his 25 identified victims and will be a registered sex offender for life, according to his sentencing documents.
Garrell is prohibited from owning a computer, possessing sexually explicit material, contacting minors or being associated with youth organizations, court documents show. He must undergo mental health treatment and a sex offender treatment program.
Garrell is currently incarcerated at FCI Coleman Low in Sumter County, Florida. His projected release date is Nov. 3, 2040, according to federal prison records.
