South Sacramento Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor for Sexual Purposes

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dilesh Sharma, 50, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempted online enticement of a minor for sexual purposes, distribution of child pornography, and receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

“Today’s sentence is a warning to other online predators,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “We are determined to use every legal avenue we have to identify and apprehend these criminals and protect children from harm.”

“The FBI is deeply committed to ensuring cases like these are conducted with extensive rigor to ensure the allegations are a clear statement of fact and accurately represent the behavior of the accused,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “Mr. Sharma will now have decades in federal prison to consider the consequences of his actions and the threat he posed to minors.”

According to court documents, in November 2016, Sharma used the Craigslist email system and the Kik application to electronically message back and forth with a person who identified himself as an adult, but who Sharma did not know was an undercover law enforcement agent. Sharma expressed his interest in gaining access to a minor for sexual purposes, and the undercover agent told Sharma that his girlfriend had an 11-year-old daughter. Eventually, Sharma’s conversations with the undercover agent reached a point where Sharma suggested that the two meet. On March 30, 2017, they met to set up an in-person meeting where Sharma was supposed to meet the minor for a sexual purpose. The next day, Sharma arrived at the designated meeting place and was arrested. During a review of Sharma’s iPhone, seized from him at the time of arrest, law enforcement agents discovered that Sharma received and distributed child pornography on Kik with someone other than the undercover agent.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roger Yang and Rosanne Rust prosecuted the case.

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 Attorneys’ 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.