LAS VEGAS, Nev. –A Henderson, Nev., man was convicted Tuesday of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden for the District of Nevada.
Following a two-day jury trial, Kenneth Gordon Wescott, 54, was convicted of one count of coercion and enticement of a minor. He was indicted by a grand jury on March 11, 2014. United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon presided over the jury trial. A sentencing date has been scheduled for Feb. 16, 2017.
“The defendant engaged in sexually explicit communications and grooming behavior with someone whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Fortunately, he was communicating with an undercover officer,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect children from sexual predators.”
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on or about Dec. 12, 2013 and Jan. 4, 2014, Wescott engaged in a series of emails and text messages with someone whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Wescott posted a provocative ad on mymojovillage.com. An undercover officer with the Henderson Police Department posed as an underage girl and responded to Westcott’s ad. Westcott used the email exchanges to build a relationship with the girl and continued to engage in sexually explicit language. Wescott asked for a face to face meeting with the girl and was arrested at the meeting place.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Henderson Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kilby C. Macfadden and Cristina D. Silva.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
###