FRESNO, Calif. — John Baker Rose, 75, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was arrested today in St. Paul after a grand jury in Fresno, California returned a three-count indictment charging him with online coercion and enticement, interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and receipt of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to the indictment, between September 2015 and November 2015, Rose made contact with a 14-year-old girl through the internet and persuaded her to meet him. He is alleged to have traveled from St. Paul, Minnesota to Fresno, California for the purpose of meeting her to engage in sexual activity. In addition, he is charged with using a cellphone and computers to receive one or more visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Fresno Police Department, and the St. Paul Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Rose faces a penalty of 10 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine for the charge of online coercion and enticement, up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and five to 20 years in prison for the charge of receipt of child pornography. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.