July 16, 2007

Former girls basketball coach found guilty of soliciting minors on the Internet

HAMMOND, Ind. - A former girls basketball coach was found guilty Friday of attempting to solicit teens for sex on the Internet and faces a minimum of 10 years in prison. This verdict resulted from a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Secret Service.

Matthew W. Hensley, 25, of Valparaiso, Ind., was found guilty of using the Internet to knowingly attempt to entice an individual whom he believed to be under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity.

Hensley was arrested Aug. 19, 2006, as a result of an undercover operation conducted by federal, state and local officials that resulted in arresting 30 people. Agents and officers posed as underage females on a number of Internet chat rooms. Hensley engaged in conversations in these chat rooms, believing he was chatting with a 13-year-old girl. Using three different adult male screen names, Hensley solicited undercover agents and officers for sex. Additionally, at the same time Hensley was posing as these three different adults, Hensley also posed as a 15-year-old female and attempted to convince the undercover officer to engage in sex with older men.

At trial, an 18-year-old female from California testified that Hensley had contacted her via the Internet when she was only 12 years old. Hensley solicited the minor female for online sex and continued this online relationship with the California teen until his arrest on federal charges.

Hensley was formerly employed as an assistant varsity girls' basketball coach at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind.

Hensley's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31. He faces a mandatory minimum term of at least 10 years incarceration, and a maximum term of incarceration for life. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Benson, Northern District of Indiana, successfully prosecuted the case.

This case is part of ICE's Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to safeguard children against Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, child sex tourists, and human traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 10,000 individuals nationwide, including more than 160 in Indiana.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. Investigators staff this hotline around the clock.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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