NEENAH, Wisc. (WTHR) - A Whitestown man is facing federal charges after he walked to Wisconsin to have sex with a teenage girl.
The Justice Department said in a release 32-year-old Tommy Lee Jenkins had recently moved to Whitestown from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and began exchanging instant messages with a girl whom he believed to be a 14-year-old named "Kylee."
Jenkins allegedly demanded the girl send him sexually explicit photos and made plans to engage in sexual activity with the girl. When she turned down repeated offers to come to Indiana to meet with Jenkins, investigators say he decided to go to her and began walking.
Along his 351-mile hike to Neenah, Wisconsin, police said Jenkins continued to send explicit messages to "Kylee." When he arrived in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, he was arrested by sheriff's deputies and an FBI special agent.
"Kylee" was actually a Winnebago County Sheriff's Department deputy assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Jenkins is facing charges of using a computer to attempt to persuade, induce, or entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. If convicted, he will receive a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and could receive a life sentence.