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WINNEBAGO COUNTY -- A former Oshkosh resident is charged in federal court for allegedly seeking sex with a 14-year-old girl -- and walking from Indianapolis to Wisconsin to get it. The accused is Tommy Jenkins.



Jenkins was charged on Thursday, Oct. 10. The complaint indicates Jenkins recently moved from Oshkosh to Whitestown, Indiana -- and began exchanging instant messages with "Kylee." The complaint says Jenkins believed the 14-year-old girl was living in Neenah with her mother. He began demanding sexually explicit photographs from "Kylee" and making plans to engage in sexual activity with the minor. When his numerous requests for "Kylee" to join him in Indiana were rebuffed, the complaint says Jenkins began walking the 351-mile trek from Indiana to Neenah. Along the way, Jenkins continued to engage “Kylee” in sexually explicit conversations and updated her as to his current location.



"Kylee" was, in fact, a Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (“ICAC”) Task Force. A news release says when Jenkins arrived in Winnebago County, sheriff’s deputies and a Special Agent with the FBI placed Jenkins under arrest.



Jenkins faces charges of using a computer to attempt to persuade, induce, or entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a lifetime of imprisonment if convicted of that charge.



This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.