Press Release
FT. LAUDERDALE MAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS FOR ENTICING A CHILD TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY
December 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Ken Mascara, Sheriff, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, announced today that defendant Stanley G. Rothenberg of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, was sentenced on December 10, 2008 by United States District Court Judge Donald L. Graham to 25 years’ imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
On May 22, 2008, a Ft. Pierce Grand Jury returned an Indictment charging Rothenberg with persuading, inducing, enticing or coercing a person under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to do so, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b), and possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B).
Rothenberg, a retired CEO of a furniture company, entered an America Online chat room and began to correspond with an undercover police officer posing as the father of an eleven year old handicapped girl. During internet communications, Rothenberg expressed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the child. Rothenberg made a hotel reservation in Port St. Lucie for the purpose of meeting the father and engaging in sexual activity with the child. Two days before the planned meeting, Rothenberg drove two hours to meet the father to verify that the father was not a police officer. During this meeting, Rothenberg again expressed his desire to engage in sexual activity with the child. Rothenberg was placed under arrest, and a subsequent search of his residence revealed hundreds of pages of chats wherein Rothenberg communicated with parents of children around the country and systematically encouraged these parents to molest their children. Rothenberg repeatedly stated that such behavior was natural, normal, and part of the parent-child bonding process. Rothenberg also possessed images of child pornography.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rinku Talwar and Marie Villafana.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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