WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Wisc. – A man was arrested after allegedly walking hundreds of miles from Indiana to Wisconsin to have sex with a teen — who turned out to be an undercover sheriff’s deputy.
Tommy Lee Jenkins, 32, recently moved from Oshkosh, Wis., to Whitestown, Ind., and on Oct. 1 started chatting with someone named “Kylee,” who he thought was a 14-year-old girl living in Neenah, Wis., with her mom, federal prosecutors said.
Jenkins allegedly “began demanding sexually explicit photographs from ‘Kylee’ and making plans to engage in sexual activity,” according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
When he was rejected, authorities claim Jenkins decided to walk to her — 371 miles away. While he walked, “Jenkins continued to engage ‘Kylee’ in sexually explicit conversations and updated her as to his current location.”
The 32-year-old told the teen he wanted to have 500 children with her in one year, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported, citing court documents.
As it turns out, “Kylee” was not a 14-year-old — but a Winnebago County sheriff’s deputy working with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force.
When Jenkins arrived in Winnebago County on Oct. 10, he was arrested by local authorities and the FBI.
“Our nation faces an epidemic of child sexual abuse, with the Internet making it too easy for predators to communicate with children across the country,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger said in a statement. “The Justice Department is committed to working with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute child sexual abuse aggressively.”
Consequently, Jenkins was charged with using a computer to attempt to persuade, induce or entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a lifetime of imprisonment if convicted of that charge.
According to online records, Jenkins remains jailed at the Brown County Jail in Wisconsin.
