Jefferson County, Kentucky, Resident Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison For Attempted Online Enticement Of A Minor

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman today announced the ten-year sentence followed by a 20-year term of Supervised Release, of a Jefferson County, Kentucky resident, by Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson, III, in United States District Court, for the attempted online enticement of a minor.  There is no parole in the federal system.

According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Carl Dean Sewell, 25, from Louisville, admitted to using a cell phone to communicate with a person, whom Sewell believed to be a 15-year-old girl, for the purposes of engaging in sexual activity.  While authorized by the Attorney General to conduct undercover (UC) operations within the Commonwealth, on December 2, 2016, a law enforcement official created an ad on the Louisville Craigslist website under the personals tab titled “nothing serious”. The ad did not request any sexual contact from prospective responders.  A person later identified as Sewell contacted the UC that same day through the Craigslist Email server system. The UC identified himself to Sewell as a 15-year-old female.

During the online communications, email and then texting, Sewell, who used the name “Dean” brought up the subject of sexual activity with the person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.  Specifically, he asked the UC to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of creating a video. The UC agreed to meet Sewell on December 5, 2016, at an address on Taylorsville Road in Eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky.  Law enforcement officials watched Sewell  drive to the agreed upon location where he was arrested. A search warrant on the phone confirmed that it was the device Sewell had used to communicate with the UC.

Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case.  The Kentucky Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations Cyber Crime Unit conducted the investigation with assistance from Louisville Metro Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab resources.