Man From Oelwein Sentenced For Attempted Enticement Of A Minor In Eldridge

DAVENPORT, IA – On August 22, 2013, Steven William Bentley, age 53, from Oelwein, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge James E. Gritzner to 121 months in prison for attempted enticement of a minor, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Judge Gritzner also ordered Bentley to serve 10 years of supervised release following imprisonment and to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund.

Bentley’s conviction resulted from a criminal trial held in Davenport, Iowa, in May of 2013. The evidence showed that between June 27, 2012 and July 25, 2012, Bentley, a self-employed businessman from Oelwein, chatted on-line with an agent from the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who was posing as a minor female. On or about July 19, 2012, Bentley arranged a meeting with the purported minor, traveled to Eldridge, Iowa, to meet her, however no meeting occurred. Bentley returned on July 25, 2013, to meet the purported minor, and he was arrested shortly after arriving at the meeting location.

This case was investigated by the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the DeWitt, Iowa, Police Department, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department and the Eldridge, Iowa, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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