United States Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced that United States District Judge Kristi DuBose sentenced defendant James Salac, 58, to 235 months in prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor. Salac entered a guilty plea to those offenses on December 22, 2021.
According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, in November 2019, Salac was a member of an online messaging group comprised of individuals who expressed sexual attraction to children. Also in the group was an undercover officer, who was posing as a mother of a nine-year-old girl. Salac instigated a conversation with the undercover officer, and eventually expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the nine-year-old girl. Salac articulated in graphic detail the sex acts he wished to perform on the girl. The undercover officer then provided Salac with a phone number purported to belong to the girl so that Salac could communicate with the nine-year-old directly. The officer then began posing as the nine-year-old. When he believed he was communicating with a nine-year-old, Salac sent her a graphic photo of his genitals, detailed what sexual acts he would like to engage in with her, and directed her how to take photos of her genitalia to send to him.
Further investigation revealed that Salac was a member of a number of online communities. He had engaged in similar conversations with other undercover officers, including one posing as the father of a ten-year-old girl and one posing as a fourteen-year-old girl. Salac also distributed images of child pornography in his online groups and to undercover officers.
Judge DuBose imposed a 235 months sentence of incarceration. The judge also ordered Salac to serve a 20 year term of supervised release upon his discharge from prison. Judge DuBose ordered that Salac pay $5,100 in special assessments. Salac will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources.