|
U. S. Department of Justice Jeffrey A. Taylor Judiciary Center |
PRESS RELEASE |
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, July 24, 2008 |
For Information, Contact Public Affairs Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933 |
District Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Traveling into the District of Columbia |
|
Washington, D.C. – Adam Bryant, a 30-year-old lawyer, working as a consultant and living in Washington, D.C., pled guilty today before the Honorable James Robertson, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to one count of Traveling Interstate to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct and one count of Enticing a Minor, announced U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor.
At sentencing, which is scheduled for October 6, 2008, Bryant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Under sentencing guidelines, he faces a likely sentencing range of 46 to 81 months in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, on March 25, 2008, members of the Innocent Images Task Force and an undercover Fairfax County police officer, posing as a father, posted a message onto the erotica section of “craigslist.com,” advertising “family fun for discrete clientele only.” Within ten minutes of the posting, the defendant replied, identifying himself as a 29-year-old consultant, and proposing to meet the purported father. The undercover police officer explained that his 13-year-old daughter “is willing to work for daddy,” and asked for a “donation.” The defendant then called the undercover police officer and asked to speak to the girl. During a recorded conversation, the defendant asked the girl how old she was and if she wanted to “help out your daddy.” The “girl,” who, in fact, was another member of the Innocent Images Task Force, confirmed that she was “thirteen,” and that she knew she was going to help out her “daddy.” Over the course of the next several hours, the undercover police officer and the defendant continued their communication by e-mail and by telephone.
On March 26, 2008, the defendant agreed to meet the “father” and “step-daughter” at Champs Restaurant in Virginia. At the agreed upon time, the defendant entered the restaurant. Moments later, the “step-daughter” called the defendant, told him that she was in the car outside of the restaurant, and asked to speak to her father. The defendant told her that she couldn’t talk to her father and to come into the restaurant and do what she was supposed to do.
After the telephone conversation, the defendant began walking out of the restaurant toward the parking lot. The defendant was stopped and placed under arrest. During a subsequent search of the defendant, law enforcement officials recovered, among other things, a video camera, $1000 in cash, and a personal check.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood and the District of Columbia MPD/FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. 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.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the quick action and investigative work, during this Project Safe Childhood initiative, of a joint task force consisting of Metropolitan Police Department Detectives Timothy Palchak, Jonathan Andrews, Morani Hines, Miguel Miranda, and the Fairfax County Police undercover officer, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents Jill Blackman and Scott Schelbe. Finally, Mr. Taylor commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Julieanne Himelstein, who is prosecuting the case.
