04/07/2008
Defendant Sentenced to 120 Months in Federal Prison Admitted He Met Underage Girl on MySpace and Entised Her to Meet for Sex
Southeast Portland Man Found in Bedroom of 14 Year Old After Meeting Girl on MySpace
Portland, Ore. - Jover Mabaet, 22, of Southeast Portland, appeared in U.S. District Court on Monday, April 7, 2008 for his guilty plea to enticing a young woman under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity. U.S. District Court Judge Garr M. King sentenced Mabaet to serve 120 months in prison.
Mabaet came to the attention of state and federal authorities when, during the early morning hours of November 30, 2006, he and a companion were found sleeping in the bedroom of a fourteen-year-old girl by her father. According to reports filed by Washington County District Attorney and agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the defendant and his companion awoke, gave false names, addresses, and phone numbers, and then departed. Only after the young girl’s cell phone was examined did Washington County Sheriff Deputies discover that the young girl had been in contact with the defendant for quite some time after meeting him socially. Most of their contact was online through the social networking sites MySpace and Friendster, and through phone calls and text messages. In his guilty plea, Mabaet admitted some of the contacts were sexualized and were delivered over the phone or internet for the purpose of enticing the young girl into a sexual relationship.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Nyhus.
