An Iowa man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. Auston McLain, 38, of Davenport, was sentenced to 10 years in Federal Prison, followed by 10 years of Supervised Release, following his conviction in June of 2023 by a federal jury for Attempted Enticement of a Minor and Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Activity. During the two-day trial, the United States presented evidence that established from November 10, 2020, through November 14, 2020, McLain communicated with a person he believed to be a minor about engaging in sexual activity. He sent pornographic pictures to that person and asked for pictures in return. He then traveled from Iowa to Illinois with the intent to meet with a child and engage in sexual activity. During the Sentencing, Judge Sarah Darrow found that McLain obstructed justice during the trial when he falsely testified about a variety of material issues.
McLain faced statutory penalties of ten years to life imprisonment, a possible fine of $250,000, and up to a five-year to life term of supervised release for attempted enticement. He faced up to thirty years in prison, a possible $250,000 fine, and a five-year to life term of supervised release for traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity. McLain also must register as a sex offender. McLain was initially released on bond and has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since March 2023.
The prosecution was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, with the assistance of the Rock Island Police Department, the Macomb Police Department, the East Moline Police Department, and the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tanner Jacobs and Matthew Weir represented the United States.
The case against McLain was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
