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Department of Justice Acting United States Attorney Candace G. Hill Contact: Dawn Masden |
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August 24, 2009
JURY FINDS MAN GUILTY OF ATTEMPTING TO ENTICE A MINOR TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND ATTEMPTING TO PRODUCE A VISUAL DEPICTION OF THAT ACTIVITY
LOUISVILLE, KY - William L. Hart, II, age 41, of Trimble County, Kentucky, was found guilty by a federal jury in United States District Court, Louisville, Kentucky, on August 20, 2009, of one count of attempting to coerce, entice, persuade, or induce a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of attempting to use, entice, coerce, persuade, or induce a minor to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of producing a visual depiction, Acting United States Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.
The jury’s guilty verdict was returned following a three-day trial before Jennifer B. Coffman, Judge, United States District Court. The evidence presented throughout trial was that between November 21, 2006 to December 8, 2006, Hart using the online screen name of “Jtown9inch” engaged in online chat communications with an undercover police officer posing as a fourteen-year-old girl. Throughout the chats, Hart discussed sexual activity and encouraged the “girl” to erase the chat archives. Hart arranged to meet the “girl” in person and wrote that he would bring a camera, and on December 8, 2006, Hart traveled to a bowling alley for the arranged meeting. Louisville Metro Police Department, Crimes Against Children Unit, immediately arrested Hart, who had a digital camera in his truck.
The maximum potential penalty for count one is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not less than 5 years’ supervised release. The minimum penalty for count 2 is 15 years’ imprisonment, $250,000, and not less than 5 years’ supervised release. The maximum combined penalty is life imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marisa J. Ford and Joshua D. Judd, and it was investigated by the Louisville Metro Police Department, Crimes Against Children Unit.
Hart is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Coffman on November 25, 2009, in Louisville, Kentucky.
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