Tennessee Resident Arrested After Driving to Clifton Park for Sexual Abuse of Minor

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Donald Jenkins, age 37, of Clarksville, Tennessee, was arrested yesterday and charged with traveling across state lines to the Capital Region with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, made the announcement.

According to a criminal complaint, in September 2024 Jenkins began communicating with an individual to discuss and plan his sexual abuse of an 11-year-old child residing in Clifton Park, New York. Jenkins ultimately devised a plan to rent a car in Tennessee and drive to Clifton Park in order to sexually abuse the child. On November 19, 2024, Jenkins was arrested after arriving in Clifton Park at a prearranged meeting location. He allegedly took a sexually transmitted disease (STD) test earlier in the day and brought numerous pairs of child's underwear as a gift for the minor. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Jenkins had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart today and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Monday, November 25. He faces a maximum term of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

HSI and the New York State Police are investigating the case. Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Clark is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney's 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.