Texas Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Traveling to Engage in Sexual Activity with Minors

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Gregory Lee Hruby, 65, of Brazoria, Texas, was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in federal prison, by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for crossing state lines to engage in sexual acts with minors who had not attained the age of 12 and for possessing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

According to trial testimony, Hruby communicated with an undercover law enforcement agent, who responded to a post that Hruby had placed on the Whisper Application.  In the communications, the undercover officer portrayed herself as the mother of 9 and 11 year-old daughters, who was willing to permit Hruby to engage in sex with them.  Hruby engaged in text and telephone conversations with the undercover officer, indicating his interest in engaging in sexual intercourse with the fictitious minors.  Hruby was arrested after law enforcement officers met him at the airport in Lexington, on October 19, 2018, following his arrival on a flight from Houston, Texas.  Hruby also had child pornography images on his phone.  

Hruby was previously convicted of all three charges in July 2019.

Under federal law, Hruby must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for the remainder of his life.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Steve Igyarto, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI); and Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear jointly announced the sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by DHS-HSI and the Cyber Crimes Branch of the Office of the Attorney General of Kentucky. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Marye and Tashena A. Fannin.

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