Philadelphia Man Indicted on Child Enticement and Obscenity Charges

Austin Ayers Winther was charged today by indictment with one count of attempting to entice another individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity, one count of attempting to use a means of interstate commerce to entice an minor into engaging in illegal sexual activity, and four counts of attempting to transfer obscene matter to a child less than 16 years of age, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

Information Regarding the Defendant
Name: Austin Ayers Winther
Address: Philadelphia
Age or Year of Birth: 64

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of lifetime imprisonment, a mandatory minimum 10 years’ imprisonment, a $1,500,000 fine, and a $600 special assessment.

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 case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.