HARRISBURG― Attorney General Shapiro today announced that a Lackawanna county youth group worker was sentenced to 15-35 years in prison, in addition to 30 years of probation, after pleading guilty for sexually abusing a child.
Matthew Romanchak, 30, of Mayfield, was charged in August, 2019 with soliciting sex from a purported minor online and travelling with the intention of meeting the child for sex. The purported minor was an undercover agent with the Office of Attorney General’s Child Predator Section. As a result, the defendant was charged with Unlawful Contact with a Minor, Attempt to Commit Involuntary Deviate Sexual Intercourse, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility.
After Romanchak’s arrest, a victim came forward to report that the defendant solicited him for sex between 2015 and 2017, when the victim was a minor.
“The defendant was associated with the church, and that is how the victim met him. Romanchak was entrusted to supervise children in a youth group, and now he is being sentenced for soliciting a minor and sexually abusing a child,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “Know that we will use the full powers of the office of Attorney General to find and stop anyone who commits these horrific crimes. I am grateful to the victim who came forward for the bravery he has shown since the very beginning of this investigation.”
Deputy Attorney General Angela Raver is prosecuting the case. Anyone who has information about child predators should contact the Attorney General’s Child Predator Section at 1-800-385-1044.
# # #