Portland, Ore. C Christopher Todd Dudley, 28, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced today to 300 months in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman for the crime of Interstate Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sex with a Minor. Dudley pled guilty on April 28, 2008. As a condition of his supervision, he must register, as required by law, as a sex offender.
In February 2007, Dudley began having conversations via the internet with an undercover agent of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. During the online discussions, the agent told Dudley that he had a five year old daughter, and the defendant stated he would like to arrange a meeting to discuss having sexual relations with the five year old. On February 27, 2007, during a telephone conversation, the defendant offered to pay $150.00 to have sex with the minor child.
After an initial meeting and follow up phone call with Dudley, during which Dudley suggested meeting somewhere in the state of Washington, the two agreed the agent would take his daughter to meet Dudley at a motel in Woodland, Washington. On the date the meeting was to take place, the defendant and his wife were observed by other agents leaving their home and traveling from Portland, Oregon to Woodland, Washington where they were arrested.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Noonan.
The U. S. Attorney’s Office continues to prosecute cases such as these 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.
