Suitland Man Pleads Guilty to Coercion and Enticement of a Minor

Greenbelt, Maryland – Sean Levan Henson, age 28, of Suitland, Maryland pleaded guilty today to coercion and enticement of a minor. 

The plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Acting Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Russell E. Hamill III of the Laurel Police Department; and Chief Eric L. Reiley of the Woodstock Virginia Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, in February 2019, Henson used various social media platforms to communicate with a 14-year old female victim residing in Shenandoah County, Virginia.  Henson sent numerous sexual messages to the underaged victim using the screenname “stayreel2you”.  For example, on February 15, 2019 Henson sent a message stating “I’m gonna take my time and appreciate you and make love to that body.”

As detailed in his plea agreement, on February 22, 2019, Henson traveled to Shenandoah County, Virginia where he picked up the victim for the purpose of transporting her to Maryland and engaging in sexual activity.  On February 23, 2019, Henson engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim in Laurel, Maryland.  Henson subsequently paid for a ride-sharing service to transport the female victim back to Shenandoah County, Virginia.  The victim’s parents reported the victim as a missing person and gave a statement to law enforcement implicating Henson in her disappearance.

On March 6, 2019, law enforcement communicated with Henson by telephone.  At that time Henson admitted he was aware the victim was 14 years-old and that he had been communicating with the victim for two months with the intention of a romantic relationship.  Henson also informed law enforcement he picked up the victim at a Virginia gas station before he proceeded to Maryland where he engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim in Maryland.

Henson and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Henson will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.  U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for October 19, 2021 at 2 p.m. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the "Resources" tab on the left of the page.         

Acting United States Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner commended the FBI, the Laurel Police Department, and the Woodstock Virginia Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Lenzner thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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