Kentucky Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Traveling for Illicit Sex with a Minor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kentucky man was sentenced in federal court today for traveling to Missouri for illicit sex with a 15-year-old girl and to attempting to entice a second child victim for sex.

Marvin D. Herren, 53, of Owensboro, Ken., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Herren to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

On Aug. 11, 2015, Herren pleaded guilty to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sex with a minor and to attempting to use the Internet to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Herren admitted that he traveled from Kentucky to Missouri in March 2014 to meet a 15-year-old girl (identified in court documents as “Jane Doe”) to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Herren initially contacted the child victim through social media on March 1, 2014. After a few days of communicating through social media, Herren began asking her questions of a sexual nature and they exchanged nude photos of themselves. On March 6, 2014, Herren sent an instant message to inform her that he was coming to see her in order to engage in illicit sex. Herren drove from Kentucky to Missouri and met Jane Doe and her friend at a restaurant near her high school. He drove them back to the high school, at which time her friend left them. Herren parked near the high school and he and Jane Doe engaged in illicit sexual activity in the back seat of his car.

Herren returned to Kentucky; although he did not see Jane Doe again, he continued for a short time to contact her by instant messaging. Herren discussed her possible pregnancy and told the 15-year-old Jane Doe that they were “now married in God’s eyes.”

Investigators searched Herren’s computer and discovered a search query for runaway laws in Missouri, statutes of limitations on statutory rape in Missouri, a pregnancy calculator and a document containing the ages of consent by state and whether a parent can press charges for such offenses.

In May 2014, during the investigation of the allegations by Jane Doe, an FBI special agent assumed an undercover identity on Facebook of a female named “Jenny.” Although Herren was aware of the federal investigation related to Jane Doe, he began communicating with the undercover agent. The two began a Facebook conversation in which “Jenny” told Herren she was in the ninth grade and also gave her e-mail address.  The two began chatting via e-mail frequently.  On Jan. 8, 2015, Herren asked “Jenny” how old she was and she stated that she was 14 years old and would turn 15 years old in February. This was the first of several conversations with “Jenny” which were explicitly sexual in nature. Herren sent “Jenny” a video of two adults engaging in sexual intercourse and initiated conversations about visiting “Jenny” and have sex with her. On Jan. 12, 2015, Herren e-mailed a nude photo of himself.

After learning that “Jenny” had argued with her mother and wanted to leave home, Herren told “Jenny” he was going to travel to Kansas City and bring her back to Kentucky with him. Despite previously being investigated for having traveled to Missouri to have sexual intercourse with a minor, Herren made the decision to return to Missouri for the same illicit purposes. This time, however, Herren’s desire was not just to engage in a few-minutes-long sexual encounter in the back seat of his car. Rather, he had the more insidious plan to bring a child back to his home in Kentucky for at least a week-long stay.

Herren made arrangements to meet “Jenny” at a Kansas City, Mo., restaurant. When he arrived at approximately midnight on Jan. 23, 2015, he was placed under arrest.

According to court documents, Herren admitted to federal agents that he received and distributed images of child pornography over the Internet, including images of children as young as two years old. A forensic analysis of Herren’s cell phone and computer was conducted. Herren’s Internet chat room history indicated that he had discussed meeting minor females for sex, had sent nude photos or webcam shots to minors and had told others he had sex with a 13-year-old when he was 22 years old.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Luna. It was investigated by the St. Joseph, Mo., Police Department and the FBI.

Project Safe Childhood

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."