Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Traveling With Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Minor

US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Minor was sentenced on April 2, 2012, by Chief US District Judge Karen E. Schreier. Jeffrey Krogman, age 32, was sentenced to 46 months in custody to be followed by 5 years of supervised release.

The US Department of Homeland Security Investigations, along with the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, conducted an on-line undercover operation, known as “Operation Crossing Guard,” to identify persons who attempt to purchase sex acts with children.

On February 12, 2011, Jeffrey Krogman, while visiting relatives in Iowa, replied to an online advertisement posted by undercover police officers. Using his cell phone to send emails, Krogman arranged to pay for sex with a 14 year-old girl in Sioux Falls. He was arrested by law enforcement after he arrived at the undercover location. Krogman pled guilty on January 10, 2012, after being indicted by a federal grand jury on March 2, 2011.

The investigation and Operation Crossing Guard were conducted by the US Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office, and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Krogman was remanded to the custody of the US Marshal.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the United States 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, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.