Dustin James Gilleo, Transportation of a Minor, North Dakota 2020

Fargo, ND - In a shocking case of online exploitation, a 33-year-old man from Wahpeton, ND, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for transporting a minor for sexual activity.

Dustin James Gilleo, a 33-year-old resident of Wahpeton, ND, was sentenced to serve 10 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for the charge of Transportation of a Minor.

The sentence was handed down on January 22, 2020 by Chief Judge Peter D. Welte of the U.S. District Court. As part of the sentence, Gilleo was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments to the Crime Victims' Fund and $900 in restitution to the North Dakota Crime Victims' Compensation.

The investigation began on January 3, 2019 when the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina reported that a missing 16-year-old female from Burton, SC, had been located via cellular phone tracking at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Further investigation revealed that the missing juvenile had entered a vehicle belonging to Dustin Gilleo, which was parked at the airport. On January 4, 2019, the Wahpeton Police Department located the missing juvenile at a residence in Wahpeton, ND, where she was removed by law enforcement and later interviewed.

During the interview, the juvenile revealed that she had left her residence in South Carolina and met Gilleo at the MSP Airport as they had previously planned. Gilleo then drove the juvenile to his residence in Wahpeton, ND, where they engaged in sexual intercourse.

Gilleo admitted to meeting the juvenile online and that they had been communicating for over five months. The communications were sexual in nature, and they had exchanged sexually explicit images of each other via text and various apps. Gilleo also acknowledged that he knew the girl was 16 years old at the time she traveled to North Dakota and that he had sexual intercourse with her at his apartment.

U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley commended the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation, including the Homeland Security Investigation, North Dakota Bureau of Investigation, Wahpeton Police Department, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nd/pr/wahpeton-nd-man-sentenced-10-years-federal-prison-transportation-child-purpose-engaging