A Missouri man, Eric Charles Fuller, 55, of Springfield, has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for traveling to Louisiana with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a twelve-year-old girl, the U.S. Attorney's office reported. According to a statement obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice, Fuller was given a 57-month term by U.S. District Judge Greg Gerard Guidry last Tuesday, an outcome springing from his guilty plea to a federal charge of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Undercover law enforcement agents, posing as a 29-year-old mother and her young daughter, first encountered Fuller on a messaging app back on December 7, 2023. Court documents reveal that Fuller communicated repeatedly over the next month about his desires to commit sexual acts with both the fictional mother and daughter. He finally decided to vividly paint his journey from Missouri to a pre-arranged meeting spot in Mandeville, Louisiana, on January 12, 2024, clearly under the belief that he would meet with a minor for sexual purposes. Following his prison term, Fuller will also face five years of supervised release, is required to register as a sex offender, and pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100, as ordered by Judge Guidry.
The sentencing is part of the wider initiative, Project Safe Childhood, which the Department of Justice launched in May 2006. It's a nationwide push designed to aggressively address the alarming rise in child exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood coordinates efforts from various federal, state, and local agencies to more efficiently locate and prosecute individuals committing these heinous acts over the internet, as well as rescuing the victims involved. Fuller's case was just one instance reflecting the ongoing vigilance of authorities combating these issues.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson commended the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in bringing Fuller to justice. The case fell under the purview of Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, who serves as the Chief of the Public Integrity Unit. The FBI's commitment to painstakingly track and apprehend individuals like Fuller further underscore the weight law enforcement places on protecting the innocence of children against the digital dangers lurking online.
