Sask. man pleads guilty to child pornography charges in US

WASHINGTON – Matthew Norman Ballek, 32, of Saskatchewan, pleaded guilty Friday to a federal child pornography charge stemming from distributing child pornography to an undercover law enforcement officer in January 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ballek has been in custody since his arrest on February 7. He now faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

The announcement about the man originally from Outlook came from U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber ​​Division; and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Earlier this year, a settlement was offered to the suspect, a World Bank employee. He remained in custody as the U.S. Attorney’s Office described Ballek as a serious flight risk because he is a Canadian citizen in the U.S. on a G4 work visa and has no family or other ties to the United States.

According to Ballek’s LinkedIn, at the time of his arrest he was living in Washington, DC, where he had been working as a financial risk specialist for the World Bank for two years. His LinkedIn also noted that he worked for the Bank of Canada for five years as a senior financial specialist and was a program manager in the LGBT capital markets to “empower LGBT+ talent.”

According to his social media, he is originally from Outlook, Sask.

Ballek has pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of possession of child pornography. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 21, 2025.

According to plea documents, the DOJ says a member of the FBI-MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force conducted undercover surveillance of an online dating application in January 2024. Law enforcement has learned that the application is sometimes used by individuals who have a sexual interest in children.

Ballek contacted the undercover officer and, believing he was communicating with a pedophile, expressed an interest in child pornography. Ballek later sent the undercover officer three video files through an encrypted messaging application. Those video files showed adult men raping toddlers and prepubescent boys. Ballek was arrested on February 7 in the District of Columbia. The FBI seized Ballek’s phone and examined it forensically. This contained ten unique videos and at least 21 unique still images that constitute child pornography.

In addition, Ballek must pay a prison sentence of at least $3,000 in restitution to each identified victim. The statutory penalties for federal offenses are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, the DOJ warned in its press release, underscoring that any penalty will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

In addition, Ballek will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to deportation proceedings and other adverse immigration consequences following a prison sentence.

The DOJ says this case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006. Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood deploys federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online. and rescue victims.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and MPD’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force consists of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and investigators from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals involved in the exploitation of children and those involved in human trafficking.

-With files from Lisa Joy