Akron Man Sentenced to Nearly 22 Years in Prison for Child Enticement

An Akron man was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for attempting to lure a 12-year-old into having sex with him, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Cleveland Office.

Nicholas B. Bowers, 31, was previously found guilty of one count each of enticement and receipt or distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

"This defendant sent obscene images of himself to a pre-teen girl in an effort to get her to meet with him," Dettelbach said. "We will continue to do all we can to protect our children from online predators."

“Attentive parents and swift law enforcement action has ensured that Mr. Bowers will not be trolling for minors on the Internet,” Anthony said. “This international collaborative law enforcement effort demonstrates that preying on our most precious commodity, our children, will not be tolerated.”

“The Springfield Township Police Department is confident that countless children have been saved from the predatory behavior exhibited by Mr. Bowers. This would have never been possible without the collaborative efforts of the FBI, the Toronto Police Department, and our Detective Bureau,” said Sgt. Eric East, Springfield Township Police Spokesperson.

From 2011 through 2014, Bowers knowingly received and distributed in interstate and foreign commerce, by computer, numerous computer files, which files contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He also knowingly used a device connected to the Internet, to attempt to persuade, induce, entice and coerce a 12-year-old girl to engage in illegal sexual activity with him.

The investigation began in Toronto, Canada, on January 9, 2014. The parent of a minor female contacted the Toronto Police Service regarding sexually explicit chats and e-mail messages his daughter was receiving. It was determined that the individual resided near Akron. Chats and e-mail exchanges continued with the Toronto Police Service portraying themselves as the minor female. Toronto Police Service contacted the local authorities in Ohio, more specifically, the Springfield Township Police Department, which has jurisdiction over the area where Bowers resided.

The Springfield Township Police Department and the FBI continued the investigation, resulting in a local search warrant being obtained and executed on January 14, 2014, at the location where Bowers resided. During the execution of this search warrant, USB storage devices and CDs were among the items seized. These specific items were labeled with file names suggesting minor ages and the words “child porn pics.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Akron Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Springfield Township Police Department, and the Toronto Police Service.