Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Khadim Rassol Gueye, 26, a citizen of Senegal, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our federal law enforcement partners are relentless in their work to keep our children safe from sexual predators, like this criminal alien, and my office stands ready to aggressively prosecute these offenses to ensure the most vulnerable members of our community won’t be victimized.”
According to court records, the defendant used a popular cloud-based messaging app to engage in conversation with a person he believed was a 13-year-old female. During the conversation, which lasted for months, the defendant expressed his sexual desires and sent obscene material depicting himself to the purported minor, who was an undercover special agent with Homeland Security Investigations. Following his release from prison, Gueye will be required to register as a sex offender.
“This sentence reinforces our commitment to protecting children from those who use digital platforms to exploit them,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas G. Ingegno. “Transmitting obscene material to a minor is a serios crime with lasting consequences for its victims. This outcome reflects the hard work of our investigators and prosecutors and serves as a clear warning that anyone who targets children online will be held fully accountable.”
This conviction was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam Hapner.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.