(October 16, 2023) Louisville, KY – A Louisville man is going to prison for violating federal child sexual exploitation laws.
According to court documents, Steven B. Earnest, 35, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by a 30-year term of supervised release, for attempted sex trafficking of children and attempted enticement of a minor.
Earnest used the internet to communicate with an individual to negotiate to pay to engage in sexual conduct with a 12-year-old child. Earnest then traveled to an agreed upon location, with money, to engage in the sexual conduct, where he was arrested.
This case was the result of a joint federal, state, and local operation called Operation Angel, aimed at making federal arrests of individuals who prey upon children. The United States Secret Service, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and the Jeffersontown Police Department investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
