Chicago Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Attempted Enticement of a Minor

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Kevin Couture, age 42, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced today to serve 144 months (12 years) in federal prison for attempting to entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Alfred Watson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Couture admitted that, between January and February 2022, he exchanged sexually explicit messages online with an undercover officer posing as a 9-year-old child in an attempt to entice the child to engage in sexual acts with him. Couture also admitted that on February 8, 2022, he traveled to a prearranged meeting location in Oneida County, New York, with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the 9-year-old child. Couture was arrested by law enforcement upon arrival at the location.

United States District Judge, Glenn T. Suddaby, also sentenced Couture to a 20-year term of supervised release to begin after he serves his term of imprisonment. Couture also will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.