Fort Worth man sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for enticing a minor

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison for enticing a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Fort Worth Police Department.

According to documents filed in the case, on Aug. 16, 2016, Scott Brandon Tosch, 49, responded to a Craigslist ad entitled, “hey bored and lookin for somethin to do while still summertime... school coming up soon... hmu.” At the time, Tosch did not know that an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department was working in an undercover capacity and had posted that ad. The undercover officer responded to the email stating that he was 13 years old. The conversations continued and were sexually graphic in nature. The conversation then led to Tosch coming to pick up what he believed to be a 13-year-old female for sexual intercourse.

On Aug. 18, 2016, Tosch arrived at the agreed location, and the Fort Worth Police Department took Tosch into custody.

Tosch pleaded guilty in December 2016 to one count of enticing a minor. Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means ordered Tosch to report to the Bureau of Prisons June 26.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Fahey, Northern District of Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.