Maine Man Indicted for Interstate Transportation of Minor with Intent to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity
Defendant Drove from Maine to Owensboro and was Arrested in Wisconsin
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 07, 2009 |
BOWLING GREEN, KY—A federal grand jury in Bowling Green, returned an indictment against Archie M. Whalen, age 43, of Hancock County, Maine, on charges of transporting a minor interstate with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity between September 26 and September 27, 2009, United States Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties are life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of a term of years up to life; and the minimum potential penalties are not less than 10 years’ imprisonment (20 years with a prior conviction involving a sex offense), a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of at least five years.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marisa J. Ford, and it was investigated by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Owensboro Resident Agency, with invaluable assistance and cooperation from the Sturgeon Bay Police Department in Wisconsin; the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department in Maine; the Evidence Response Team in the FBI’s Milwaukee Division; and the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney in Daviess County, Kentucky.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well s identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Whalen is scheduled to appear for arraignment before the United States Magistrate Judge on E. Robert Goebel on October 22, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., in Owensboro, Kentucky.