Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Online Enticement of Virginia Beach Girl

NORFOLK, Va. – Scott Thomas Sandler, 51, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for enticement of a minor.

Sandler pled guilty on March 26, 2015. According to court documents, Sandler met a 13 year-old girl from Virginia Beach on Facebook in March 2014.  The two struck up an online friendship that quickly turned sexual, and Sandler sent numerous images of his genitals to her.  The online relationship lasted about one month.  At that time, the victim’s father found out and reported the crime to the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD), who identified Sandler by his self-photographs that he sent to the victim, which included a distinctive shirt that contained the name of Sandler’s employer in North Dakota.  After Sandler was identified, his computers were confiscated and examined.  The VBPD discovered that Sandler had been having online sexual relationships with additional minors, as well as collecting hundreds of sexually explicit images of minors from the Internet.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. Field Office, and James A. Cervera, Virginia Beach Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-4.

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