(Seattle)—A 32-year-old Seattle man was charged August 5, 2020, by criminal complaint, with Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Prostitution or Criminal Sexual Activity, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  GARY STENSLAND, was arrested yesterday and made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

According to the criminal complaint, in September 2018, STENSLAND traveled to Portland to meet a 13-year-old whom he had contacted via an internet app.  STENSLAND returned to Seattle with the minor and paid the minor for sex.  STENSLAND then drove the youth back to Portland.  The youth just recently disclosed the abuse.

On August 5, 2020, the FBI, as part of the Seattle Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, executed a search warrant at STENSLAND’s residence and seized his electronic devices.  Law enforcement continues to investigate other sexual contact STENSLAND may have had with minors.

Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Engage in Prostitution or Criminal Sexual Activity is punishable by a mandatory minimum ten years in prison and up to life in prison.

The charges contained in the complaint 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.

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.

The case is being investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hampton.