Belleville man drove to Collinsville to have sex with teen. The FBI greeted him instead.
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts Tuesday against a Belleville man accused of two attempted sex crimes against a minor after he tried to meet with who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl in Collinsville.
The jury found Gerald S. Sewell, 59, guilty of one count of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Sewell’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Sewell initiated a conversation on Craigslist with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 15-year-old girl.
“Where u looking to go and ...” he said, according to the records.
“Looking for a fun discreet time ... later” the undercover agent responded.
Later, Sewell messaged, “U gonna wear sexy thong for me?”
The agent responded, “Sure. What r u gonna wear,” according to court documents.
Using sexually-explicit language, he made plans to meet with what he believed to be a teenage girl for sex at a house in Collinsville. Sewell arrived at approximately 4:40 p.m. June 27, 2020, to the undercover residence and parked his Camero in front, court documents noted. He exited his vehicle, walked to the front door and was arrested.
In an interview with law enforcement, Sewell said he was living at a friend’s house in Missouri and therefore had crossed over state lines to engage in the criminal sexual activity, according to the court records.
Sewell was one of 14 defendants charged in June 2020 as the result of an FBI-led operation involving multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies that targeted online predators, according to the federal court.
“As technology becomes more integrated into our daily lives, internet safety is critical for healthy development in children of all ages,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe in a statement. “Fortunately, the FBI is working aggressively to remove online predators looking for children to abuse, and I’m grateful for their partnership.”
The FBI Springfield Field Office led the operation with assistance from the FBI St. Louis Field Office, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Belleville Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Swansea Police Department, and the U.S. Secret Service. Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alton jail, the Monroe County jail, and the St. Clair County jail.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Reppert and Zoe Gross are prosecuting the case.
