POCATELLO—Wayne Allen Ginnis, 29, of
Seattle, Washington, and James Russell Ashley, 47, of Augusta, Georgia, entered
guilty pleas today to a superseding information charging them with traveling in
interstate commerce with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, U.S.
Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. In their plea agreements, both men admitted
that they intended to have illicit sexual conduct with girls they knew were
under the age of 18. The two also admitted to sending the girls bus tickets to
travel from Idaho to Hollywood, California.
According to the plea agreements, in
early May 2011, Ginnis purchased bus tickets at a Hollywood, California bus
station for the girls, then ages 12 and 13, to travel to California. Ashley
sent one of the girls a text with the ticket information, and on May 2, 2011,
the girls boarded a bus for California. The girls were intercepted by police in
St. George, Utah, and returned to their parents. Ashley and Ginnis admitted
that they then traveled from Hollywood intending to go to Idaho to meet the
girls and have sex with them. Ashley and Ginnis purchased bus tickets in Las
Vegas for travel to Idaho on May 12, 2011. Ginnis was arrested in Las Vegas and
did not complete his travel to Idaho. Ashley was arrested in Idaho. Both Ginnis
and Ashley admitted they knew the ages of the girls and that they traveled in
interstate commerce with the intent to have illicit sexual relations with them.
The men first made contact with the two girls over the Internet, then proceeded
to communicate with their victims by cell phone and texting.
Ashley and Ginnis face up to 30 years in
prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a minimum term of five years up to
lifetime supervised release.
The men are scheduled to be sentenced on
August 27, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal
courthouse in Pocatello.
“Today’s guilty plea brings justice to
two men who sought to exploit young Idaho girls,” said Olson. “State and
federal law enforcement acted quickly and decisively to prevent an even more
horrific act of sexual exploitation of children. I applaud their efforts. I
also caution parents to be aware of sexual predators seeking to entice and
endanger children over the Internet. Responsible adults must ensure that
Internet communications are not used to lure children into becoming victims.”
The case was investigated by the
Pocatello Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S.
Marshals Service.
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