Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty To Illicit Sexual Conduct Charges, Receiving Child Pornography

COLUMBUS – Jason C. Kozlowski, 32, of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to traveling interstate with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and receiving child pornography.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Grove City Police Chief Steve Robinette, Pickaway County Sheriff Robert B. Radcliff, and members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Chief Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

According to court documents, on October 10, 2014, Grove City police officers observed Kozlowski in his vehicle behind a Target store nude from the waist down with a 15-year-old female.

Upon interviewing Kozlowski and the minor female, investigators discovered the two had been communicating since approximately March of 2014 by Facebook, e-mails, text messages and telephone calls.  Text messages found on the phones of Kozlowski and the minor female revealed that Kozlowski had sent the girl sexually explicit messages.  Kozlowski was aware of the female’s age and the laws in the state of Ohio regarding consent.

Kozlowski told law enforcement officials the 15-year-old was going to get a letter from her parents giving him permission to “be with” with the girl. The defendant admitted to driving from Pennsylvania to Ohio to pick up the female and explained they went to dinner, shopping, and then parked behind the Target store and engaged in sex acts.

Investigators discovered nude photographs of both the defendant and the victim had been exchanged vita text. They also discovered pornographic images of a different, 13-year-old female on Kozlowski’s computer.

Traveling in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is a crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Receiving child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.

The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer facilitated crimes against children. The following agencies are members:

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office	Upper Arlington Police Department
Grove City Police Department	Columbus Police Department
Grandview Heights Police Department	Whitehall Police Department
Hilliard Police Department	Westerville Police Department
Homeland Security Investigations	U.S. Secret Service
Ohio ICAC	Franklin County Prosecutor's Office

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by law enforcement, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Heather Hill and Jessica Kim, who are representing the United States in this case.