Enticement of a Minor

Former Referee Convicted for Attempted Enticement of a Minor


April 23, 2010 - ALEXANDRIA, VA—Richard L. Rockett, Jr., 45, of Alexandria, Virginia, was convicted on April 21, 2010, for attempting to entice a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity following a bench trial before United States District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Earl Cook, Alexandria Chief of Police; and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington Field Office, made the announcement.

According to court records and evidence at trial, on July 28, 2009, Rockett met someone in an Internet chat room that he thought was a 13-year-old female—and who was in reality an undercover Alexandria detective. He engaged in Internet and cellphone discussions with the alleged minor girl, including meeting her for sex. On Sept. 16, 2009, Rockett went to a hotel and brought sex paraphernalia to meet the underage girl, who had then purportedly turned 14-years-old. He was arrested after knocking on the hotel room door. Rockett was formerly employed as a volleyball referee and coach.

This case is part of an online investigation initiated by Alexandria Police Department in cooperation with the FBI and its Online Child Exploitation Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Tracy Doherty-McCormick and Jay Prabhu prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States