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Press Release

Rochester Man Arrested, Charged with Enticing, Threatening Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
 

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Johnnie Jones, 31, of Rochester, NY, was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with enticing a minor to engage in sexual acts, and with threatening the minor with the intent to tamper with evidence. The charges carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, Jones communicated with a minor by mobile telephone. The defendant repeatedly sent the minor sexually explicit messages over a period of several weeks and attempted to entice the minor to have sex with him. Jones also threatened to kill the minor and the minor’s family members if the minor did not delete the incriminating messages and images that he had sent.

Jones made an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Feldman. The defendant is being held pending a detention hearing on September 26, 2014 at 9:30 a.m.

The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation by Special Agents of Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Updated November 19, 2014