Baltimore Man Sentenced to 46 Months for Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Andre Lamont Cook, age 36, of Baltimore, Md., was sentenced today to 46 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Cook will also be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives. Cook pled guilty on May 14, 2009, to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office; Joseph Price, Leesburg Chief of Police; and Stephen O. Simpson, Sheriff of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Liam O’Grady. 

According to court documents and proceedings, on February 19, 2009, Cook began communicating over the internet with a Leesburg Police Detective posing as a 14-year-old girl named “Lisa.” During the course of subsequent chats and telephone calls, which were often sexual in nature, Cook asked to meet “Lisa.”  Cook acknowledged that “Lisa” was a minor and that he could go to jail for having sex with someone so young. “Lisa” and Cook agreed to meet at a restaurant in Leesburg, Virginia, and then go to a hotel in order to engage in sexual activity. Cook drove from Baltimore to Leesburg and was arrested at the pre-arranged location.

This investigation was conducted by the Leesburg Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. This case is being prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia by Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew McCormack, who is on detail from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.