Acting United States Attorney James R. Klindt
Middle District of Florida

MINNESOTA MAN INDICTED ON CHARGES OF
ATTEMPTED INTERSTATE ENTICEMENT OF MINOR TO
ENGAGE IN SEX AND TRANSPORTATION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Jacksonville, FL - Acting U.S. Attorney James R. Klindt, Michael J. Folmar, Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Bill McCollum, Florida Attorney General, announce today the unsealing of a two count indictment charging Kelly Leonard Jacob on July 26, 2007, charging him with attempted enticement of a person he believed to be a minor to engage in sex and interstate transportation of child pornography. Jacob, age 23, is a resident of Minnesota and currently in custody in Iowa on state charges.

If convicted of the charge in Count One of the indictment, he faces a maximum penalty of not less than 10 years’ imprisonment up to life imprisonment, $250,000 in fines, and a term of supervised release of 5 years up to life. If convicted of Count Two, Jacob faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years’ imprisonment and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 in fines, both, and a term of supervised release of 5 years up to life.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit of the State of Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

The Florida Attorney General's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit is a member of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a federally funded program working nationwide to educate and support law enforcement to stop these crimes, and the FBI Cyber Taskforce in Jacksonville.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.