LOGAN — An 18-year-old Smithfield man convicted of trying to bribe an 11-year-old girl to have sex with him has been spared any further jail time. Matthew Yi-De Harvey was given credit for two weeks in jail and seven month on pretrial supervision instead of any more incarceration.
Harvey was sentenced Sept. 10 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He previously accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to enticing a minor and criminal solicitation of a minor, both amended to second-degree felonies.
According to prosecutors, Cache County Sheriff’s deputies received a call from a male individual on Dec. 4, 2024, explaining how Harvey was chatting with his little sister on Snapchat. The complainant said the suspect had offered to pay the young girl $50 to have sex with him.
Harvey had initially told the victim that he was a freshman. He also reportedly asked her if she had any friends who would also be interested in being paid to have sex.
Deputies were able to obtain a warrant and trace the Snapchat account. It was registered to an email address in Harvey’s name. An IP address was also tracked to his Smithfield residence.
Investigators found additional chats with other females, where Harvey would lie about his age depending on how old the recipient was. They also located numerous images of pornography.
On Jan. 9, Harvey was arrested and questioned by law enforcement. He initially lied to deputies about having a Snapchat account or messaging the young girl. Later, he stated it was a joke, when shown the account was registered to his email address, according to the arrest affidavit.
During last week’s sentencing, Harvey apologized to the victim and her family. He said, “I’m extremely sorry for the harm I caused.”
Cache County Deputy Attorney Dane Murray noted how the victim’s family had asked for the plea deal because they didn’t want to see Harvey going to prison.
Judge Angela Fonnesbeck noted Harvey’s lack of a criminal history and young age, explaining how if the crimes would have happened just a couple months earlier, the case would have been handled in juvenile court. She sentenced him to 210 days in jail but gave credit for the time already served in jail and on pretrial supervision. She also ordered him to continue mental health treatment and have no unapproved access to the internet.