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Contact: Jim Cross
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Nov. 5, 2007

KANSAS CITY MAN PLEADS GUILTY, AGREES TO 18-YEAR SENTENCE FOR SEXUAL ACTS INVOLVING TEENAGED GIRL

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Jesse Herd, 35, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty Monday to transporting his stepdaughter across state lines for the purpose of unlawful sexual activities.

“We are recommending the defendant be sentenced to 18 years in federal prison without parole,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. “He entered a guilty plea with that understanding.”

In his plea, Herd admitted that the abuse started in 2004 when he began driving around with the 14-year-old girl looking for men who wanted to have sex with her. During the first incident, Herd checked the girl into a hotel in Kansas City, Mo., and video taped the girl having sex with three men.

Herd also admitted that at other times he transported the girl to a club in Missouri called Erotic City. He would take her downstairs to what was called an “orgy room,” where the girl had sex with as many as 20 men at once. After each incident, Herd would have sex with the girl, too.

The victim’s mother told investigators that she did not know what Herd was doing. She said he told her he was taking the girl to a strip bar in Kansas City, Mo., where he said he was having her count money and do inventory for the club.

Witnesses told investigators that starting in 2005 they had seen Herd bring the girl to Erotic City, a so-called “juice bar” that does not serve alcohol, where he introduced her as his 18-year-old girlfriend. Witnesses said Herd set the girl up with other patrons of the club for encounters in the “orgy room” that included oral and vaginal sex. Witnesses said Herd brought the girl to the club several times a week during the past two years. They also reported that Herd kept the door open to allow others to watch when he had sex with the girl.

Witnesses also said that Herd took the girl to a private residence in Basehor, Kan., where she participated in sexual activities with multiple partners, including Herd.

U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers will sentence Herd at a hearing Feb. 1, 2007. He faces a sentence of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Smith are prosecuting.