Chicago Man Sentenced for Traveling to Have Sex with 11-Year-Old Girl

Isacson Traveled from Chicago to Atlanta for a Sexual Encounter with a Minor; Instead, He Was Arrested by Federal Agents

ATLANTA—MICHAEL ISACSON, 67, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced today before United States District Court Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. to 15 years’ imprisonment for enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said: “Men like this defendant, who are willing to travel hundreds of miles for the opportunity to have sex with a child, present a serious danger to communities throughout our country. This man not only engaged in sexually explicit communications with the purported mother of an 11-year-old girl to convince the mother to give him access to her daughter, but he actually traveled from Chicago to Atlanta to have sex with the little girl. His lengthy sentence is well-deserved.”

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “It is a sad reality that individuals such as Mr. Isacson continue to pose a threat to our children. While the FBI is pleased with its role in removing Mr. Isacson from posing any additional threats, the FBI will continue to dedicate vast resources toward identifying and presenting for prosecution these types of child predators.”

ISACSON was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will be required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system. ISACSON pleaded guilty to the charge on March 1, 2012.

According to United States Attorney Yates and the information presented in court: In December 2011, MICHAEL ISACSON, using two different online screen names, began communicating with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 29-year-old mother of an 11-year-old daughter. Between December 2011 and January 2012, ISACSON engaged in sexually explicit communications with the agent in which he stated that he wanted to be the child’s “naughty grandpa and her naughty daddy.” He later exposed himself to her using a web camera. ISACSON also sent the undercover agent a list of several rules to give to the 11-year-old girl, which included the rule that when he used the word “obey” that the girl was to do exactly what she was told with no questions. On January 18, 2012, ISACSON was arrested in Alpharetta, Georgia, where he traveled from Chicago, Illinois to meet with the undercover agent and her fictitious daughter to have sex with the young girl.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/, and click on the tab “Resources.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Jill E. Steinberg and former Assistant United States Attorney Robert McBurney prosecuted the case.