MISSOULA - A Wyoming man today admitted to a crime accusing him of traveling to Montana with the intent to engage in sex with a minor, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Jeremy George Lusk, 38, of Crowley, Wyoming, pleaded guilty to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Lusk faces a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a minimum of five years to life of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for Oct. 30 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Lusk was released pending further proceedings.
The government alleged in court documents that in January, a Bozeman Police Department officer was working undercover and observed an ad on a social media application asking if anyone wanted to engage in sexual relations with a 38-year-old from Bridger, Montana. The ad stated the individual was looking for someone between the ages of 18 and 68. The undercover responded that she was 14 years old and lived in Bozeman. Lusk told the undercover to contact him when she turned 18, and the undercover responded telling Lusk to contact her if he changed his mind. Luck re-initiated contact the same day, and the conversation turned sexual. The communications led to Lusk sending a nude photo of himself. On Feb. 22 and through the morning of Feb. 23, Lusk wrote messages indicating his intent to travel to Bozeman and that he was on his way. Law enforcement determined Lusk lived and worked in Wyoming. After being directed to a specific location by the undercover, officers arrested Lusk when he arrived. Lusk admitted to having online sexually explicit discussions with a 14-year-old and had come to Bozeman with the intent to meet her for a sexual encounter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno B. Baucus is prosecuting the case. The Bozeman Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.
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 U.S. Attorney’s 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.justice.gov/psc.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys