Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on Dec. 10, 2018, Jason W. Junek (age: 42) of Hortonville, Wisconsin, was sentenced by Chief District Judge William C. Griesbach to 15 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of minor children in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2251(a). Upon his release, Junek will be on federal supervised release for 10 years and will have to register as a sex offender in the jurisdiction in which he resides. He was also ordered to pay a mandatory $5,000 special assessment pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
Junek used several popular social messaging applications to exchange texts, instant messages, and sexually explicit images with underage girls located across the United States and in several foreign countries. Junek created fictitious accounts to portray himself as a high school student utilizing the names “Jordan Fuerst" and “Josh Gibson." Junek convinced the underage girls that he was their “boyfriend" and manipulated them into sending sexually explicit digital images and videos.
In pronouncing sentence, Chief Judge Griesbach noted the “horrible" nature of Junek’s crimes stating he “deprived children of their innocence." The judge proclaimed the strong need to deter Junek and others from engaging in sexual communications with minors via the internet and that Junek’s actions called for substantial punishment.
The case was investigated by the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
