United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Sioux City, Iowa, man convicted of Attempted Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor was sentenced on March 20, 2017 by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Nathanuel Walter Downs, age 29, was sentenced to 63 months in custody, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Downs was indicted for Attempted Commercial Sex Trafficking by a federal grand jury on June 2, 2015; a Superseding Information was filed November 5, 2015, charging Attempted Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor. He pled guilty to the Superseding Information on Oct. 17, 2016.
On April 10, 2015, Downs responded to an ad placed on Backpage.com by an undercover officer posing as a fifteen-year-old girl. Downs responded to the advertisement and agreed to travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from Sioux City and pay to have sex with the minor. Police arrested Downs after he arrived at the agreed upon location in Sioux Falls and handed cash to an undercover officer.
This case was investigated by South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Sioux Falls Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
Downs was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
