LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Chief United States District Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr., sentenced Timothy Scott Walters, 51, to 10 years in prison followed by 20 years of Supervised Release, announced United States Attorney Russel M. Coleman. There is no parole in the federal system. Walters remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service.
Walters previously admitted to online communications with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl for the purpose of meeting her to engage in sexual conduct. He also admitted to sending obscene material to the same person.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, law enforcement officials became aware of Walters’ conduct as the result of an online undercover operation. In March of last year, an investigator responded to a Louisville Craigslist advertisement in which the poster was seeking a young female for what appeared to be sexual purposes. The investigator replied to the ad and advised that he was a 15-year-old girl. Walters then sought details about the girl’s sexual history, sent graphic sexual photos of himself, and requested to meet her to engage in sex acts.
The investigator determined that Walters worked for the United States Postal Service in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After being advised of his constitutional rights and waiving those rights, Walters admitted that he had placed the Craigslist ad that resulted in the conversation with a 15-year-old girl. He went on to state that he used the Craigslist personals site in the past to meet people for sexual encounters. In his estimate he had used the site 10 to 15 times to meet individuals for sex. He also admitted that the photos he sent to the girl were pornographic and confirmed his knowledge that the age of consent in Kentucky is 16.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, Department of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from United States Postal Inspection Service.
***
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 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."
***
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
