James L. Santelle, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced today that a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging Paul Gary Rothschild (age 40), of Highland Park, Illinois with attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

 Count One alleges that Rothschild, from November 28, 2010, to December 7, 2011, used a facility and means of interstate commerce to attempt to have sexual contact with an individual he believed to be a fifteen-year-old female.  If convicted of this offense, Rothschild would face a maximum of life and a mandatory minimum term of ten years’ imprisonment.  He also would face a fine of up to $250,00 and a minimum of five years and up to a life term of supervised release.

Count Two alleges that on December 7, 2011, Rothschild traveled from Illinois to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with an individual he believed to be a fifteen-year-old female.  If convicted of this offense, Rothschild would face up to thirty years’ imprisonment.  He also would face a fine of up to $250,00, and a minimum of five years and up to a life term of supervised release.

Rothschild was arrested on December 7, 2011, when he arrived at the prearranged meeting location in the City of Milwaukee, to allegedly engage in a sex act with an individual he believed to be a fifteen-year-old girl.  In fact, the person Rothschild had been communicating with was an undercover Milwaukee Police Department Detective assigned to the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s High Technology Unit.

 Subsequent to his arrest, Rothschild appeared in federal court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and was ordered detained without bond until his trial. 

According to United States Attorney James L. Santelle, “The Department of Justice has made the protection of our nation’s children a top priority through Project Safe Childhood, and prosecutions like this one promote that critically important goal.”  He added: “Those involved in the enticement of children of any kind, including any person who travels for the purpose of meeting with a child for sexual purposes, will be identified promptly, investigated thoroughly, and prosecuted effectively in this and all other federal districts.” United States Attorney Santelle also praised the undercover work of the Detectives from Milwaukee Police Department’s High Technology Unit, for their effectiveness in this matter and in others involving the attempted enticement of a minor.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Milwaukee Police Department, Criminal Investigation Bureau’s High Technology Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Penelope L. Coblentz, the District’s Project Safe Childhood Coordinator, has been assigned to prosecute this case.

This case is prosecuted as a component 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

 An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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