United States Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart
Southern District of Ohio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CONTACT: Fred Alverson |
CANADIAN TRUCK DRIVER SENTENCED TO 48 MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT FOR TRAVELING TO OHIO IN ORDER TO HAVE SEX WITH TEEN BOY “Teen Boy” Was Undercover Franklin County Sheriff’s Detective |
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COLUMBUS – Serge Beauseigle, age 60, of Belleville, Ontario was sentenced in United States District Court here to 48 months imprisonment for traveling in interstate commerce in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and Franklin County Sheriff James Karnes announced the sentence handed down yesterday by United States District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.
Beauseigle contacted an individual, whom he thought was a 14-year old boy, in an online chatroom in November, 2007. The “boy” was actually a detective with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office conducting an undercover investigation. Beauseigle claimed to be a truck driver who traveled all over.
Over the next several months, Beauseigle sent videos of himself to the “boy.” In February, 2008, Beauseigle said he would be traveling through Ohio and would like to arrange a meeting. Deputies arrested Beauseigle on March 5, 2008 when he showed up at the pre-determined meeting place in Columbus.
Deputies seized Beauseigle’s computer, which he was ordered to forfeit. He has been in custody since his arrest. After he serves his prison sentence, he will be deported to Canada. Beauseigle pleaded guilty on April 24, 2008 to a two-count information.
“Investigators patrolling the Internet for criminals are just as important as those who patrol our streets,” Lockhart said. “We want to guard our children’s safety as much as possible by prosecuting those who commit such crimes.”
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 via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Lockhart commended the cooperative investigation by FBI agents and Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah A. Solove, who prosecuted the case.