Jason Dominik Tyler Rodriquez, 38, of East Prairie, Missouri, was sentenced to a total of 420 months in prison on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, after a federal jury found him guilty in November of 2021 of trying to have sex with an 8-year-old girl and transporting child pornography.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Rodriguez, formerly known as Jason Tyler Smith, chatted online for four days on an online dating application and had a telephone conversation with what he thought was a father willing to allow strangers to have sex with his 8-year-old daughter for $150. The purported father was actually an FBI agent. During the conversations, Rodriguez indicated his interest in traveling to Marion, Illinois, from St. Louis, Missouri, to meet the father and the purported victim and engage in sexual acts with her. On March 26, 2020, Rodriguez left St. Louis, Missouri, where he was employed as a nurse, and arrived at a business in Marion, Illinois. Law enforcement agents promptly arrested Rodriguez. After his arrest, agents found $150 in cash on Rodriguez and an unopened bag of candy in his automobile. Rodriguez had previously been told the 8-year-old would expect candy before having sex with him. After his arrest, the agents also discovered Rodriguez had a cellphone in his possession with over 20,000 videos and pictures of child pornography.
“Federal law enforcement conducts these sting operations so that would-be child molesters are aggressively prosecuted after they take affirmative steps to abuse a child, but before they can do immeasurable damage,” said United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The Investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Springfield Division, and the United States Marshals Service.
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