Lee's Summit Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking, Possessing Child Porn

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Lee’s Summit, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to cyberstalking one victim and possessing child pornography images of another victim.

August W. Jentsch, 25, of Lee’s Summit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to cyberstalking and possessing child pornography. Jentsch was taken into federal custody at the conclusion of the hearing.

According to today’s plea agreement, the first victim notified the police department at the University of Minnesota (where she was attending school) that Jentsch had broken into her e-mail account and obtained nude images of her that were taken when she was 16 years old. The victim had briefly dated Jentsch in December 2007. The victim stated the 20-day relationship was not romantic and never physically intimate.

Jentsch stalked the victim from Jan. 2, 2008, to Aug. 29, 2011, by showing up at her work and residence, texting and e-mailing her, and leaving gifts for her. Beginning in September 2011, Jentsch set up fictitious Facebook profiles of the victim and posted the nude photos and video he had obtained from her e-mail account. This happened four or five times and each time the victim contacted Facebook to have the accounts taken down. Jentsch hacked into the victim’s gmail, Yahoo! E-mail, and Facebook accounts and assumed control of the accounts by changing the passwords. He sent random e-mails with the nude photos of the victim to people in her e-mail contacts. Jentsch also used the victim’s nude images and identity to set up another social media account to invite others to get in touch with the victim through Facebook for sexual activity.

A restraining order was served on Jentsch on Oct. 13, 2011. When a state search warrant was executed at Jentsch’s residence, officers found the images and video of the victim on an SD card that was in his computer. Investigators also discovered a video of child pornography on Jentsch’s computer that involved a second victim. The video portrayed the second victim, who was 15 years old, engaged in sexual activity with Jentsch.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Jentsch is subject to a sentence between five years and 10 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the University of Minnesota Police Department and the Lee’s Summit, Mo., Police Department.