Springfield Man Sentenced for Enticing a Minor for Sex

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for attempting to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Mark Damon Dunn, 32, of Springfield, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, to 12 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Dunn to 10 years of supervised release following incarceration.

Dunn, who pleaded guilty on Dec. 28, 2017, admitted that he used the Internet and a cell phone to attempt to entice a minor victim to engage in illicit sexual activity from June 1, 2016, to July 13, 2016.

According to court documents, Dunn attempted to coerce a 15-year-old victim to engage in sexually explicit activity on multiple occasions. He repeatedly asked the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct and to send him videos and/or images of herself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Dunn also sent the victim nude images of himself.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Springfield Police Department. 

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."