SACRAMENTO — A North Bay man is facing at least 10 years in prison after a federal grand jury indicted him Thursday on child-related sexual offenses, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said.
The jury charged Kevin Blaine Cline, 46, of Fairfield with attempted online coercion of a child and distribution of child pornography, after presentation of evidence gathered by law-enforcement officials.
According to a complaint filed Nov. 5, an undercover agent working for the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force saw a Nov. 1 user post “looking for dad’s who love their daughters near me I ……. Have a question” with a note at bottom reading “Freaky Sexual Desires,” referencing an app sub-group.
During a text-message conversation within the app, the user told the agent “I’m looking for a dad that’s willing to ummm.. share his daughter with me” and sent two images of naked girls.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s new to me too,” the user said in part. “I’ve always been attracted to young girls though, just never had the chance to be with one. I think the wiring in my head is fried lol.”
After obtaining a warrant with a Contra Costa County Superior Court judge for the user account’s IP logs, GPS coordinates and subscriber information from the app, the agent continued to talk to the user, who soon agreed to meet Nov. 3 in Pleasant Hill for what he believed would be a rendezvous with the father of a 7-year-old girl.
When the user arrived, he was arrested and identified as Cline, and admitted in an audio interview to creating the user account, possessing nearly three dozen images of child pornography and sending two images to the agent.
A search of Cline yielded two cell phones, including one used to post to the social-media app, and a container of lubricant and an unopened box of condoms was found in Cline’s car.
If convicted of attempted online coercion, Cline faces between 10 years to life in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, the charges are allegations, and defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In addition, any sentence would depend on court discretion and consideration of statutory factors and federal guidelines.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case, which resulted from an investigation by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
