Elvis impersonator accused of filming teen denied release from prison

A Michigan Elvis impersonator was caught in January at a Summit Township motel with a 16-year-old New York girl who ran away with him and was found naked in their motel room. He has lost his bid to be released while the federal case against him proceeds in court.

Matthew J. Chantelois, 45, had requested release from jail while he awaited further action on six charges filed against him in a superseding indictment filed in March. But Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo ordered Chantelois to remain in custody following a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Erie on Wednesday morning.

Lanzillo said that based on the allegations against Chantelois and other matters, including where he would reside if he were released, he saw no circumstances that would reasonably ensure the safety of the community if Chantelois were released.

The allegations, as outlined by Assistant District Attorney Christian Trabold during Wednesday’s hearing, include that Chantelois manipulated the girl over the many months they were in contact via social media, enticing her to send him sexually explicit images and taking steps to conceal their activities and plans.

“I think the level of planning and care involved creates a risk that cannot be mitigated by any circumstance,” Lanzillo said.

Chantelois was charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, related to allegations involving sexually explicit videos; one count of using a computer or other electronic device to transport images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and one count of possessing images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, court documents said.

Sexual exploitation carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison if Chantelois is convicted, while computer-related charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and possession carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Chantelois, an Elvis impersonator who uses the stage name Matt King, was initially charged by Pennsylvania State Police with corruption of minors, interference with custody of a child and providing alcohol to a minor after officers found Chantelois and the girl in a Summit Township motel in late January. State police were assisting New York State Police in the search for the girl, Trabold said in court Wednesday.

Chantelois was arraigned on the local charges and returned to Michigan after posting his $100,000 bail, according to court records and testimony at Wednesday’s hearing. He was remanded in custody after an original federal indictment was filed in February.

Parents offered as guardians

Chantelois’ attorney, Stephen Sebald, told Lanzillo that after Chantelois posted bail in the local case, he returned to Michigan and was trying to find a job when the federal charges came down. If released now, Chantelois’ parents, who are retired and live in Dearborn Heights, Mich., are prepared to act as third-party guardians, Sebald said.

He added that if released, Chantelois could also be placed under GPS monitoring.

Trabold noted in his arguments to the court that Chantelois’ parents’ home is less than a mile from an elementary school, high school and college, and is close to other homes. The community is also about a half-hour drive from the Canadian border, he said.

Trabold then detailed the allegations against Chantelois, including the five-month online relationship he had with the girl during which he had exchanged sexually explicit images; finding the girl naked in the Summit Township motel room, where sex paraphernalia, laptops and cellphones were found; images of child sexual abuse being found on those electronic devices; and the girl’s admission that she and Chantelois had engaged in sexual acts at the motel, which was her first sexual experience.

In addition to the images on the electronic devices, authorities also found searches for the minimum age of consent in Pennsylvania and several other states, and how old someone must be before they can fly without a parent, Trabold said.

Trabold also testified in court that the girl told authorities she had been ordered to keep a diary in which she wrote false accusations against her parents. If the diary were found, her parents would believe she had simply run away.

Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNhahn