A Festus, Missouri man currently working in Jacksonville was one of 10 men recently charged with attempted enticement of a child to engage in sex. U.S. Attorney John Milhiser and FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Sean M. Cox announced that 10 men were arrested over the weekend in Springfield and charged in separate complaints. The complaints were unsealed on Monday as each man made their initial first appearances in federal court in Springfield via teleconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tom Schanzle-Haskins. Each have been ordered to be detained pending hearings later this week.
51 year old Charles E. Brinkley of Festus, Missouri and presently working in Jacksonville was one of the 10 named in the charges. According to the affidavits filed in support of the complaints, each of the men allegedly used various social media applications to contact and engage with individuals whom they believed to be minors, under the age of 18 with the intent of meeting to engage in sexual activity. These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The charges are the result of investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; the Springfield Police Department; and, the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs is representing the federal government in the case prosecutions in coordination with Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Shaw of the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, for the offense of attempted enticement of a minor, each defendant faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.