Arkansas man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for traveling to Colorado with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children

DENVER – Donnie Waldo, Jr., age 48, of Dover, Arkansas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore to serve 180 months (15 years) in federal prison for traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with children, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge David Thompson announced.  Following his prison term, Judge Moore also ordered Waldo to serve 10 years on supervised release.  The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.

Waldo was charged by Criminal Complaint on November 10, 2014.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on November 17, 2014.  The defendant pled guilty on March 20, 2015.

According to court documents, starting in October of 2014, an undercover HSI agent initiated an investigation targeting individuals using a specific website to sexually exploit children.  The free website allows users to create profiles and post pornographic videos and pictures based on their sexual interests.  The website included groups called “incest,” “jailbait” and “teen”.  Members can post advertisements in the “classified” section seeking to meet members with the same sexual interests, such as incest and rape.

During the course of the investigation the undercover agent came across an advertisement on the website, which stated: “I am a 47 year old man I am 6’3” tall weight 220 lbs at the present time I am married but me and my wife cant have children together I am interested in finding a woman to have an incest relationship with I want to start an incest family with a nice woman who is seeking the same thing I want a woman who is interested in me breeding her if this is you then lets talk” (sic).

On October 2, 2014, an undercover HSI agent working in an online undercover capacity in Greeley as a single mother with two young daughters responded to the advertisement.  The undercover agent in the single mother persona and the target conducted numerous chats online – mostly involving the prospect of him having a sexual relationship with the undercover agent’s persona and her two daughters, ages 10 and 14.  During one of the chats, the target allegedly stated that he wanted a “very open relationship . . . openly having sex with you (the single mother persona) and both daughters” and further discussed that he wanted to impregnate the single mother’s persona and both daughters.

Further investigation revealed that the ad was posted by Arkansas resident Donnie Waldo.  Waldo made arrangements with the single mother persona to travel to Denver to meet and engage in sexual relations with the mother and her two daughters.  On November 10, 2014, Waldo boarded a flight from Little Rock, Arkansas to Atlanta.  In Atlanta, he boarded a flight to Denver, where he was arrested by HSI agents.

“Defendant’s chilling conduct – he travelled to Colorado with the hope and intention of sexually abusing two young children – earned him every minute of the 15 year sentence imposed by the Court,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.

 “HSI special agents aggressively pursue sexual predators who target children, which preemptively rescues untold future victims,” said David A. Thompson, special agent in charge of HSI Denver.  “This significant prison sentence awarded to Donnie Waldo will undoubtedly save some children the horror of being sexually victimized.”

This case was investigated by HSI.  The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia L. Riewerts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."