A 37-year-old Staff Sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) was arrested today on a criminal complaint charging him with traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual contact and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  MOEUN YOEUN made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma this morning following his arrest at JBLM.  YOEUN had been residing in Steilacoom, Washington.  YOEUN will remain in custody pending a detention hearing next week.

            According to the criminal complaint, YOEUN came to the attention of law enforcement when Facebook notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a person associated with four user accounts was enticing minors to send images of sexually explicit conduct and was making travel plans to go to the Philippines to engage in sex with minors.  The messages linked to the account indicate YOEUN traveled to the Philippines in February 2019.

          The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

          Traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.  Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in prison..The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.  If convicted, the sentence of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

          FBI and U.S. Army CID are investigating the case as part of the South Sound Child Exploitation Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Hampton and Grady Leupold.

          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 Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc