The United States Department of Justice
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Sept. 25, 2008
KANSAS CITY MAN USED INTERNET TO FIND MINOR BOYS FOR SEX
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Timothy Kessler, 41, Kansas City, Kan., has pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced Thursday.
In his plea, Kessler admitted that he used a Web site (www.outinkansascity.com) to make contact with teenage boys for sex. The FBI began investigating in June 2003 when agents were contacted by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department with information that Kessler had persuaded a minor boy from Blue Springs, Mo., to have sex with another man. Kessler had first contacted the minor in the Web site’s chat room. Kessler told the boy he was a photographer and he could help the boy get started in a modeling career.
FBI investigators also discovered that in February 2003 Kessler had driven from Kansas City, Kan., to Springfield, Mo., to pick up a 15-year-old boy he met through the same Web site. In that case, too, Kessler had told the boy he could help him start a career in modeling. Kessler took pictures of the boy engaged in sexual activity.
Kessler is set for sentencing Jan. 5, 2009. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Melgren commended the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin for their work on the case. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to protect children from sexual exploitation.