Hillsville Man Sentenced on Child Sex Charges

Dewey Nelson will Serve 13 Years in Federal Prison

February 6, 2010 - ROANOKE, VA—A 39-year-old Hillsville man will spend more than a decade of his life in prison after being sentenced today on child sex charges in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.

Dewey Edward Nelson, who in November 2009 pleaded guilty to two counts of traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent that such individual engage in sexual activity, was sentenced today to 13 years of incarceration.

“Sexual predators like Dewey Nelson target the most vulnerable among us—our children,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “Mr. Nelson enticed a minor child to travel halfway across the country so that he could fulfill his deviant sexual desire. His subsequent attempts to cover up his crime failed, and he was brought to justice by the dedicated law enforcement team who conducted this investigation. This case shows that investigators are watching, monitoring, and moving swiftly to apprehend the criminals who lurk on the internet and target children. These cases are a priority for the United States Attorney’s Office, and we will continue to seek justice for the victims of these terrible crimes.”

In November, Nelson admitted that in February 2009, and again in May 2009, he traveled from his apartment in Hillsville, Virginia to Texas and Kansas, respectively, to pick up a 15-year-old girl who he had met online. He did this with the knowledge the girl was underage and for the sole purpose of bringing her to Virginia to engage in sexual conduct.

According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Sharon Burnham, the investigation of the case began when officials from the Augusta, Kansas Police Department contacted the Hillsville Police Department in regards to a missing 15-year-old girl.

When Hillsville police officers went to Mr. Nelson’s home, he told authorities that the child inside the apartment was his daughter. To further hid the victim’s true age, the defendant created a false identification card indicating the girl was over 18 years of age. Officers were able to determine the girl’s true identity and placed Mr. Nelson under arrest.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hillsville Police Department, and the Augusta, Kansas Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sharon Burnham prosecuted the case for the United States.

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 http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.