WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A convicted sex offender at the center of an underage sex case was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday afternoon in Palm Beach County, months after a judge raised concerns about whether a proposed plea agreement did enough to protect the victim and the public.
Matthew Takahashi appeared at the Palm Beach County Courthouse for sentencing following his guilty plea to a violation of probation and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor.
Before imposing the sentence, the judge reviewed the conditions of Takahashi’s guilty plea with him and told him she had the authority to sentence him to life in prison. Takahashi told the judge he understood.
The victim’s mother also spoke briefly during the hearing and told the judge that she and her daughter supported the proposed 15-year prison sentence.
The judge ultimately sentenced Takahashi to 15 years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex offender probation. As part of that probation, he will be required to wear a GPS monitor.
Takahashi was also declared a sexual predator and was ordered to have no contact with the victim or her family. The judge said he could also be sent to a treatment facility after his release from prison.
The sentence follows concerns raised during an April hearing over what restrictions Takahashi would face after completing his prison term.
At that hearing, the proposed agreement called for 15 years in prison, with credit for time served, revocation of Takahashi’s probation in an earlier child pornography case and designation as a sexual predator.
The victim, who was a minor at the time of the crimes, told the court in April she once saw Takahashi as a father figure but said he groomed her over time and began a sexual relationship with her. She said she and her family remain in therapy, that she no longer feels she had a normal high school experience and that she struggles with trust.
She also told the court she feared for her younger sister’s future safety and asked the judge to impose additional protections, including probation and a no-contact order, after Takahashi’s release.
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The judge questioned at the April hearing why the agreement did not initially include probation after prison, particularly because the new offenses occurred while Takahashi was already under supervision.
Friday’s final sentence included several of the safeguards the victim and her family had sought, including 10 years of sex offender probation, GPS monitoring and an order barring Takahashi from contacting the victim or her family.
The sentencing also brought a former prosecutor connected to Takahashi’s earlier case back to the courthouse.
Greg Schiller, now CEO of Child Rescue Coalition, prosecuted Takahashi’s original federal child-exploitation case in 2009.
In a statement, Schiller said:
The 15-year prison sentence of Matthew Takahashi today in Palm Beach County State Court, issued by Judge Sherri L. Collins, affirms the conviction that sexual predators won’t stop. Matthew Takahashi sexually assaulted a teenage girl while he was on probation for possession of child sexual abuse material. He attempted to be removed from that probation while committing the new offense. Child sexual offenders are manipulative, cohesive, and dangerous. The original investigation that I prosecuted began in 2009 using Child Rescue Coalition technology. This case is the perfect example of why law enforcement cannot rest in bringing these predators to justice, and Child Rescue Coalition is proud to support law enforcement around the globe and here in Palm Beach County in these endeavors.
