Gulf Breeze Man Charged with Traveling to Alabama to Engage in Sexual Acts with a Minor

PENSACOLA, FL—Kenneth E. Haynes, 59, of Gulf Breeze, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for using a computer to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, announced the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

The two-count indictment alleges that on October 1, 2010, Haynes traveled from Gulf Breeze, Florida to Fairhope, Alabama with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The indictment also alleges that between September 20, 2010, and October 1, 2010, Haynes used a computer to entice this minor to engage in sexual activity. Haynes was taken into custody on a federal arrest warrant on October 1, 2010, and remains in the Santa Rosa County Jail. During a hearing to determine his release status pending the outcome of these charges, the government presented evidence that after engaging in sexually explicit chats with an Internet correspondent whom Haynes believed to be a minor, Haynes traveled to Fairhope, Alabama to meet the minor, bringing with him sexual toys and lubricant.

If convicted for using a computer to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, Haynes faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years’ up to a maximum of life imprisonment. Haynes also faces a maximum of 30 years’ imprisonment for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh praised the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation out of Mobile, Alabama, the Fairhope Police Department, and the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose joint investigation led to the arrest and indictment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.