NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

JOHN F. WOOD

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD

CARTHAGE MAN CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTING

TO ENTICE A MINOR FOR SEX

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Carthage, Mo., man has been charged in federal court with attempting to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Ivron Butler, 44, of Carthage, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Springfield on Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Butler had his initial court appearance today.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Butler’s MySpace account was reported to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline because it allegedly had been used to instant message multiple minor boys asking to trade nude pictures and webcam with him. When investigators accessed Butler’s MySpace profile, the affidavit says, they observed videos and photographs of partially clothed children.

Law enforcement officers created an undercover MySpace account, adopting the identity of a fictitious 13-year-old boy. Butler allegedly sent multiple pornographic photographs and instant messages, as well as multiple links to pornographic Web sites, to the undercover officers. Between Aug. 6 and 28, 2008, the affidavit says, Butler made six requests via instant messaging over the Internet for a meeting with the purported 13-year-old boy.

Wood cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Kelleher. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Carthage, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys 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.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at