Kern County Man Sentenced for Crossing State Lines with the Intent to Engage in Sex with a Minor

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that David Charles Zastrow, 52, of Kern County, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to seven years and three months in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for traveling across state lines with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

According to court documents, Zastrow traveled from Florida to Bakersfield with the intent of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor, as well as engaging in such conduct with a minor while she was under his custody and control. He pleaded guilty to this charge on May 23, 2011, and has been in federal custody since April 15, 2010.

This case is the result of an extensive investigation by the Bakersfield Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Stanley A. Boone and Brian W. Enos prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.