Sex Offender Guilty of Child Pornography Charges

A 65-year-old registered sex offender has been found guilty of attempting to produce child pornography, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, transporting child pornography, possessing child pornography and offense by a registered sex offender. John Alan Lewis, a two-time convicted felon, was arrested in September 2012 after renting a car in Lima, Ohio, and driving to Plainfield, Indiana, where he intended to meet a 14-year-old girl.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Lewis met the individual online in November 2011 and sent and received numerous images depicting minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct via emails. Following the arrest of the individual in the Eastern District of New York, law enforcement assumed the online identity and engaged in a series of online chats where Lewis expressed his desire to travel from Ohio to Indiana, pick up the 14-year-old, and take her to a motel to engage in sexual acts.

The investigation was conducted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Cyber Crime Unit, the Indiana State Police Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section, and the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Criminal Division Trial Attorney Amy E. Larson and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota.

The verdict was rendered by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell and Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler made the announcement. Lewis has been in federal custody since his arrest in 2012 and will be sentenced at a later date.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative was launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

Lewis’s prior convictions include possession of child pornography and attempted sexual conduct with minors. He has been a registered sex offender since his previous convictions. The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement and prosecutors to protect children from exploitation and abuse.

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