A Kentucky man is set to serve a hard 15 years behind bars after his conviction for trying to lure an underage child. Michael M. Gott, 62, from Paducah, struck a plea deal confessing to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, landing him a decade and a half in the federal pen. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, once Gott's prison term ends, he's on the hook for another five years of supervised release.
The case against Gott sprung from a covert FBI operation on an online forum known as a haunt for sexual predators. An agent, masquerading as a mother of an 11-year-old, tangled with Gott who was duped into scheming a rendezvous with the fictional child. "Those who try to sexually abuse children deserve justice in proportion to the deviance of their behavior, which in this case was a significant federal prison sentence," U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe said of Gott's sentencing.
Plans were made for Gott to meet his would-be victims and whisk them away to a hotel in Paducah he had reserved, but instead, FBI agents apprehended him before any real child could be harmed. "This sentence reflects the serious nature of Gott’s offense and demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to identify, investigate and arrest those intent on harming the most vulnerable members of our society," FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge David Nanz informed.
The release clarified this case fell under the umbrella of Project Safe Childhood, a pervasive effort led by the Department of Justice to deal with the escalating crisis of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The operation unites federal, state, and local forces to better find and bring to book individuals misusing the internet to victimize young ones and save the children caught in these heinous acts.
