South Carolina Man Charged in Connection with Transporting Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity

TUCSON, Ariz. – Last week, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned a two-count indictment against Timothy Mikell Schultheis, aka Jackson Oden, 24, of South Carolina, charging Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity and Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.

The indictment alleges that on or about March 20, 2022, Schultheis knowingly transported Jane Doe, a 12-year-old minor, in interstate commerce by taking her from the state of Arizona to the state of South Carolina, with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The indictment further alleges that Schultheis traveled in interstate commerce from Arizona to South Carolina for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with the minor.

According to the complaint filed last month, the 12-year-old was reported missing after she left her home on the morning of March 20, 2022 and did not return. The minor’s Facebook account revealed communications with 24-year-old Schultheis, including his plan to travel from South Carolina and pick up the child in Safford, and his intention to engage in sexual conduct with her. When Schultheis was arrested at his apartment in South Carolina on March 30, 2022, Jane Doe was found in the apartment. 

A conviction for the crime of Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A conviction for the crime of Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Activity carries a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The FBI in Sierra Vista and the Graham County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carin Duryee and Raquel Arellano, District of Arizona, Tucson, are handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-22-00973-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-062_Schultheis

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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