A 36-year-old Irish national has been brought across the Atlantic to face federal child exploitation charges in South Texas, in a case that local officials say underscores how far authorities will go to track down suspected online predators. Matthew Liam Johnstone arrived in Houston on Thursday after being extradited from Ireland and is set to make his initial appearance in Corpus Christi federal court at 9:45 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby. Prosecutors say a federal indictment accuses Johnstone of coercing a minor to produce sexually explicit images, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Johnstone was taken into custody overseas, then flown into Houston on Feb. 19 and will be transported to Corpus Christi for his first court appearance. The office says the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Irish authorities to secure the arrest and transfer.
A grand jury returned the indictment on Aug. 6, 2025, charging Johnstone with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and four counts of coercion and enticement, prosecutors say. The indictment alleges that in September 2022 he coerced a minor into filming and photographing herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct that the charging document describes as including elements of sadism and bestiality, according to the Department of Justice.
Legal process and penalties
Federal prosecutors say Johnstone faces up to life in prison and a potential $250,000 fine if convicted on the charged counts. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman is leading the prosecution along with Trial Attorney Adam Braskich of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit conducted the investigation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
Local context
The case was brought as part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which coordinates federal, state and local efforts to combat online child exploitation. Local coverage has highlighted the severity of the allegations and the international cooperation it took to get Johnstone into a South Texas courtroom, according to KRIS 6 News…