FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TUESDAY - October 20, 2009

NINETEEN YEAR OLD SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS

FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A CHILD

RALEIGH - United States Attorney George E.B. Holding announced that in federal court on October 16, 2009, United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced TIMOTHY R. LUKENS, 19, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to 168 months’ imprisonment.

A Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment on March 11, 2009. On July 6, 2009, LUKENS pled guilty to sexual abuse of a child.

On February 10, 2009, a minor child reported that LUKENS had touched her inappropriately in a bathroom while the victim was at an in-home private daycare on Fort Bragg. LUKENS was interviewed and admitted that while his mother, the primary renter of the home where the daycare was provided, was at another location for an appointment, he had touched the child inappropriately.

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Division - Fort Bragg. Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Schneider from Fort Bragg represented the government.

News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.