A Dublin, Ohio, man with prior sex offense convictions has been sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison after he was caught in a sting operation involving an undercover agent he believed to be a minor. Kyle Tennyson, 35, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to charges related to attempting to meet up with a purported 15-year-old for sexual purposes.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, Tennyson initiated a conversation with an undercover agent on the social media app Kasual. Despite acknowledging the "minor's" age, Tennyson pursued the conversation, requesting explicit images to confirm the individual's identity and discussing sexual acts, at one point lamenting, "It’s just extremely risky for a guy to do anything with you sadly. :/ I hate the law."
The intercepted meet-up was destined for a Cincinnati hotel, but law enforcement officials arrested Tennyson upon his arrival. He was found with a grocery bag holding an open box of condoms, indicating his intentions. This conviction adds to Tennyson's troubled history with the law as a registered sex offender, having been previously caught for a similar offense involving a supposedly 18-year-old on Bumble, who was underage. He shared with the "minor" that he had been "caught for this a few months ago and am currently going through the legal system," in addition to sending a picture of his leg with an ankle monitor, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Previously convicted in 2014 of pandering obscenity, Tennyson is also juggling 10 other charges in Delaware County related to sexual offenses involving a minor. The announcement of his 151-month sentence was led by U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II and Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stentz of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Detroit. Assistant United States Attorney Danielle E. Margeaux and Criminal Chief Christy L. Muncy represented the government in this high-profile case.
