Cayuga County Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeremy Soutar, age 46, pled guilty on April 28, 2026, to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

During his guilty plea, Soutar admitted that, while on post-release supervision for a prior conviction for Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree in New York, and while required to register as a sex offender, he attempted to entice what he thought was a 14-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity.

At sentencing set for August 26, 2026, Soutar will receive a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, be placed on supervised release after serving his term of imprisonment for at least five years and up to life, could be fined up to $250,000, and will be required to forfeit to the government the property he used to commit the offense. In addition, Soutar will have to register as a sex offender.

A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

First Assistant United States Attorney Sarcone said: “My Office will always prioritize the investigation and prosecution of recidivist sex offenders like Soutar, who commit or try to commit sex crimes against children despite having already been punished for doing just that. Since a sentence of twelve years in state prison did not rehabilitate him, he gets to spend another decade in prison—this time, a federal penitentiary. I thank the FBI, the New York State Police, and the Cayuga County Sheriff’s Office for their diligent investigation.”

Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli said: “With this plea, Mr. Soutar’s history of predatory behavior comes to an end, and he will spend at least a decade in federal prison unable to harm our children. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force will continue to leverage the strength of our incredible law enforcement partnerships to aggressively investigate any individual looking to harm our most vulnerable citizens.”

The FBI, the New York State Police, and the Cayuga County Sherffi’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Gadarian is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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