Portland, Ore. – A former Boy Scout leader was sentenced to prison this morning in federal court following his pleas of guilty 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 in January 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. This morning, U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown sentenced him to ten years in prison, followed by a five-year year term of supervised release. While on supervised release, Reyes will be subject to a host of special conditions of supervision, including requirements that he register as a sex offender and participate in sex offender treatment. Reyes was also ordered to pay $1,260 in restitution to the family of the 15-year old girl.
The charges against Reyes stemmed from numerous Internet “instant messaging” chats and telephone conversations between Reyes and the 15-year old girl, who lived in Massachusetts, during which Reyes discussed having sexual relations with her. 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’ 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 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. Arresting officers also seized a digital video recorder, a digital camera, and a computer thumb drive that contained images of child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut praised the outcome in this case. “Because of a parent’s vigilance and cooperative efforts between federal and local law enforcement officers in two separate states, a dangerous predator was apprehended before he had the opportunity to sexually abuse a teenage girl,” she said. Ms. Immergut noted the importance of parents monitoring their children’s Internet activity, and added that the Department of Justice is “firmly committed to prosecuting predators who use the Internet to prey on our children.”
