US: chat room snare catches would-be child abuser

Jesper Lundberg, age 40, of Jarfalla, Sweden, has pleaded guilty to travelling to the United States with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a girl he believed to be 14-years-old.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Lundberg, who will be sentenced on 27 June, 2008, faces a prison sentence between 70 and 87 months. Upon his release, Lundberg will remain under Court supervision for a term of at least five years to life. Lundberg also will be required to register as a sex offender in any U.S. jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends an educational establishment. According to court documents and proceedings, on 10 April, 2007, Lundberg began a series of e-mail chats with an undercover detective from the Arlington County Police Department. Over the next several months, in both e-mail chats and recorded telephone conversations, Lundberg expressed his desire to have sex with the undercover detectives fictional 14-year-old daughter for USD400. On 20 March, 2008, Lundberg flew to the United States from Sweden and was arrested at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia, where he had previously agreed to meet the "father and daughter." This investigation was conducted by the Arlington County Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Andrew McCormack, who is on detail from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice.