PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD

FLORIDA MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD EXPLOITATION OFFENSE

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE: Daniel Moses Lenz, 26, was arraigned in United States District Court today on charges that Lenz caused the transportation of a minor in interstate commerce with the intent that the child engage in illegal sexual conduct in violation of federal law.

On March 26, 2007, Windham Police received information that a minor child was missing. Further investigation by the Windham Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that the child had been communicating with Daniel Lenz through “World of Warcraft,” an on-line interactive video game. The child was found on March 27, 2007, in Manning, South Carolina, in the company of Jason Dowling, 23, also of Florida. The government alleges that Dowling was transporting the minor at Lenz’s direction.

Trial in this matter is scheduled for July 10, 2007. The defendant faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide 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 about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Helen White Fitzgibbon with assistance from the Windham Police and the FBI.

An indictment is the way a formal charge is brought against a defendant. All defendants are presumed innocent of any charge brought in an indictment until guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.