Florida Man Found Guilty of Travel to Arizona with Intent of Sex with Minor

PHOENIX - Charles A. Soderman, 31, of Marathon, Fla., was found guilty yesterday of Travel with the Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Minor by a federal jury in Phoenix. The case was tried before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Martone between September 1- 10, 2009. Soderman will remain in federal custody pending sentencing which is set before Judge Frederick J. Martone on November 23, 2009. The evidence at trial showed that on March 9, 2009, Soderman flew from Marathon, Fla., to Yuma, Ariz., and then traveled to the Mexican border in an attempt to have sex with a male child as young as six years of age. This arrest was part of an undercover operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to halt sex tourism into Mexico as part of ICEs national program, Operation Predator. A conviction for Travel with the Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact with a Minor carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Martone will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. Operation Predator is a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children. For more information, visit www.cybertipline.com, a website through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A Department of Justice initiative, 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/. The investigation leading to the guilty verdict was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The prosecution was handled by Fred Cocio and Sheila Phillips, Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the District of Arizona.