Federal grand jury indicts north Texas man on child enticement and obscenity charges

DALLAS – A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Wednesday, charging a north Texas man with two counts of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Andrew Dale McKee, 35, has been in custody since his April 26 arrest on related charges.

According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, in April 2012, "Jane Doe" received and accepted a Facebook friend request from someone she did not know by the name of Andrew McKee. Jane Doe's Facebook page displayed her true birth date, school name and cell phone number. McKee began texting her, and in the ensuing conversations, offered $100 to her or a willing friend to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him. He also sent her a sexually explicit, obscene image.

After law enforcement was notified, an officer with the Garland Police Department, acting in an undercover capacity, assumed Jane Doe's identity and texted McKee, advising him that she had found a willing friend. Sexually explicit text messaging continued between Jane Doe and McKee, and he again sent the above-referenced obscene image to her.

At the same time that the undercover officer, acting as Jane Doe, was texting McKee, the officer, posing as the "friend," and using another cell phone number, texted McKee. For two days, the undercover officer, posing as the "friend," and McKee exchanged text messages. In these text messages, McKee repeatedly suggested that they meet to engage in unlawful sex acts. On the morning of April 26, the "friend" received several text messages from McKee who indicated that he was "on his way." When McKee arrived, he was arrested by officers with the Garland Police Department.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, each of the enticement counts carry a statutory sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Transferring obscene material to a minor carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.

The case is being investigated by the Garland Police Department and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.