According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the Indictment alleges that Josiah Ferrebee, of Pine Grove, persuaded and coerced a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual image of such conduct, and enticed, persuaded and coerced the minor to engage in illegal sexual activity in January 2016.
The charges stem from an investigation by agents from the Department of Homeland Security and detectives from the County Sheriff’s Office in Grand Traverse Michigan.
If convicted, Ferrebee faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the child pornography charge, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a potential maximum sentence of life in prison for the enticement of a minor charge.
This case was 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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.