Illinois Man Sentenced for Traveling to North Georgia Intending to Have Sex with 11-Year Old Girl

RORY E. VILLEJO, 45, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, was sentenced Janaury 6 by United States District Judge Harold L. Murphy on a charge that he traveled from his home in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Cartersville, Georgia, intending to have sex with an 11-year old girl whom he met via the internet.

“This case represents yet another example of the dangers that our children face when communicating with strangers via the internet,” said United States Attorney David E. Nahmias. “The defendant used the internet to encourage a girl whom he believed to be 11 years old to leave home without telling her parents where she was going or what she was intending to do, so that she could meet him and go with him to a motel room to have sex. Fortunately, because the ‘girl’ was actually an undercover police officer, the defendant’s crime was thwarted, and he will serve a lengthy sentence in federal prison. Parents should always be aware of the identities of persons with whom their children are communicating via the internet and know what is being said to their children during their online communications.”

Chief Thomas N. Culpepper of the Cartersville Police Department said, “This case is a reminder that the internet can be a very dangerous place. Caution and diligence should be the vanguard of every parent and adult when monitoring a child’s internet activity. The world today has many dangers and the internet predator is certainly one of which we should be keenly aware. Without the diligence of Sgt. James Scott, this agency, along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, would not have removed this dangerous predator.”

VILLEJO was sentenced to 7 years, 8 months in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. VILLEJO was convicted of the charge on October 10, 2008.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: VILLEJO communicated for two months via the internet with a person he believed to be an 11-year-old girl, but was in fact a Cartersville Police Department undercover officer posing as the young “girl.” Shortly after meeting the “ girl” in a teen chat room, VILLEJO began having sexually explicit conversations with her. The “girl” repeatedly told VILLEJO that she was 11, that she had never had a boyfriend, that she had never had sex, and that she could not let her parents find out that she was communicating with him. Nevertheless, VILLEJO continued to speak with her online and to encourage her to meet him so that they could go to a motel room and have sex. He also told her that he would take her to California so that they could be together and eventually get married. When the “girl” agreed to meet VILLEJO and go with him to a motel room to have sex, VILLEJO drove from his home in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Cartersville and checked into a motel. He was arrested by Cartersville Police Officers shortly after he arrived. A search of his motel room led to the recovery of condoms, and lingerie that he had told the “girl” he would bring with him for her to wear for him during the time they were together in the motel room.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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