Portland, Ore. – A former Boy Scout leader entered a guilty plea Thursday, in federal court to charges arising from his attempts to entice a 15 year-old girl to travel to Oregon to have sex with him. James V. Reyes, 47, who resided in Washington County, pled guilty to one count of attempting to transport a minor in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity, and one count of using a facility of interstate commerce – the Internet – to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Each of the crimes is a felony that carries a penalty of from ten years to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a term of post-prison supervised release of five years to life.
The charges against Reyes stemmed from numerous Internet “instant messaging” chats and telephone conversations between Reyes and a 15 year-old girl who lived in Massachusetts, during which Reyes discussed having sexual relations with the girl. The girl was a distant relative of Reyes. Local law enforcement officers in Massachusetts were alerted to Reyes’ interest in the victim after the victim’s father discovered some of Reyes’ rather explicit instant messaging chats with the victim.
In the fall of 2006, Reyes arranged to fly the victim from Massachusetts to Oregon in order to have sex with her, and actually sent her an airline ticket. He rented a motel room in Tillamook, at the Oregon coast, where he planned to take the victim to have sex with her. Reyes was arrested by federal and local law enforcement officers when he arrived at Portland International Airport to meet the victim, who never actually boarded the flight. The motel room key was in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
On December 12, 2006, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Reyes with five separate felony counts in connection with his activities with the victim. As part of a plea agreement with the government, Reyes pled guilty to two of the most serious counts. The remaining three counts will be dismissed at the time of sentencing. The sentencing hearing is set for April 4, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown.
U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut stated, “Fortunately, because of a parent’s vigilance and the fine work of federal and local law enforcement officers, this predator was apprehended before he had the chance to sexually abuse a 15 year-old girl.” Ms. Immergut noted the importance of parents monitoring their children’s Internet activity, and added, “we are committed to investigating and prosecuting those who use the Internet to prey on our most vulnerable citizens.”
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood 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.
“This case is particularly troubling because of the defendant’s position of trust with young people, but it underscores ICE’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to search out predators who sexually exploit innocent children,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations that oversees Oregon. “Some predators mistakenly believe the anonymity of cyberspace shields them from scrutiny; in fact, their use of computers and the Internet have given us new tools in our enforcement efforts to protect children.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Washington County, Oregon, Sheriff’s Office, and the Hopkinton, Massachusetts Police Department investigated this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Sussman.
