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CHARLESTON -- A Logan, Ohio, man accused of traveling to Parkersburg to meet a minor was sentenced to prison for a federal sex offense, the United States Attorney said.
Donald E. Ward, 59, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for traveling in interstate commerce in order to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor, U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said. Following release from prison, Ward will serve a term of five years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence and will be required to register as a sex offender.
Ward admitted that in January he began communicating via a social media application and text message with a minor he believed to be a 14-year-old girl in Parkersburg. On Feb. 13, Ward traveled from Ohio to Parkersburg in to meet the minor to engage in sexual activity, including oral sex, Stuart said.
Only then did Ward discover the minor was actually an undercover law enforcement officer, Stuart said.
"Protecting West Virginia's youth is a priority of my office," Stuart said. "These are absolutely egregious crimes. I will continue to focus the efforts of my office to protect our children and other vulnerable populations. Predators who seek to take advantage of those that are weaker or vulnerable will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The West Virginia State Police, the State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Parkersburg Police Department conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is handling the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.justice.gov/psc.