Virginia Man Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison For Traveling Into the District of Columbia To Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct With a Minor

            WASHINGTON - Scott Casoni, 47, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and tampering with documents or proceeding, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Casoni pled guilty in April 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras. Following his prison term, Casoni will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for a period of 15 years.

            According to the government's evidence, on June 6, 2016, Casoni contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, through a social network site. Over the next few weeks, Casoni engaged in text messaging with the undercover officer. During this period of time, Casoni arranged with the undercover officer to meet in Washington, D.C. for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a female who was a minor. On June 30, 2016, Casoni traveled from Virginia to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C. When he arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested. He has been in custody ever since.

            Additionally, on July 6, 2016, while Casoni was detained at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, he contacted a family member in an effort to persuade the family member to change his password on all of his e-mail accounts, uninstall all of his messenger applications, and remove several electronic devices from the home.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's 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.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Assistant Director Vale, and Chief Newsham praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Criminal Investigator John Marsh, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay Suttenberg, who prosecuted the case.