Matthew Bonjean

At the time of the sting, Matthew Bonjean lived in Hemet, California.

Matthew Bonjean arrived at the hotel where the sting was to happen and entered the lobby. He was quickly apprehended by deputies at taser point while a hotel employee filmed on his phone. Bonjean was transported to the jail where he was brought to meet Chris Hansen. As he walked in, he noticed Chris and began to smile. When questioned by Chris, Bonjean admitted that he talked about having sex with the twelve-year-old girl.

Bonjean confessed that he has seen many of Chris Hansen's shows in the past, telling himself that he would not be that kind of person to get caught in one and used to make fun of the predators that did get caught. Chris, in a voiceover, said that Bonjean was the creepiest fan he's ever met. Bonjean explained that his coming to meet a twelve-year-old girl for sex was a "lapse in judgment." However, he also stated that he has talked to underaged girls in the past but had never met with one. Chris Hansen "called bullshit" on the claim that he has never attempted to meet a minor before.

Bonjean then laughed at his own logic. He stated that the idea of having sex with a minor was a fantasy of his for some time. The fantasy arose because he was a virgin until he was twenty-years-old and "missed out on something" as a teenager.

Chris questioned Bonjean's fantasy, with Bonjean stating that he went to therapy for it at the behest of his girlfriend. He and his girlfriend initially roleplayed with age until she noticed that it was not an innocent fetish for him but rater a serious psychological issue. The therapy was successful for several years. Bonjean claimed that his girlfriend had been lying to him throughout their entire relationship and only found out about the lies after she died. He claimed that she was fourteen years older than she said she was and, although she told him that she had a daughter, she never actually had one. This upset Bonjean because he said that a principal reason that he was with his girlfriend was because he had hoped he could have sex with her daughter. Chris asserted that Bonjean was upset about his girlfriend's passing for the wrong reasons and that his tears were "fake trauma." The interview concluded with Bonjean admitting that he would have had sex with the minor should it not have been a sting.

Bonjean's sex offender registration photo. November 23, 2023.

Traveling to Meet a Minor for Sex Soliciting Sex With a Minor Use of a Two-Way Communication Device to Commit a Felony Attempted Lewd Battery

Initially, Bonjean pled guilty to Traveling to Meet a Minor for Sex and Attempted Lewd Battery on the condition that the other two charges be dropped. The judge denied his motion and accepted his original plea of guilty. He was fined a total of $868.00 and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in the Florida Department of Corrections with a credit of 180 days. He served his sentence at the Avon Park Work Camp and was released in September 2025. He is now a registered sex offender in the State of Florida, and he will be on probation until 2030.