Honolulu Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Attempted Child Enticement

HONOLULU - Brent Leroy Gaston, 65, was sentenced yesterday to 120 months imprisonment for attempted child enticement by U.S. District Court Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi. Gaston pleaded guilty in February to attempting to engage in sexual contact with two children who Gaston believed to be a nine year-old boy and an eleven year-old girl. In addition to his sentence, Gaston must register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to information produced to the court, an undercover law enforcement officer posted a profile on a social media and dating application of an adult who would be visiting Honolulu and "wanted to find some like-minded pervs like me." When Gaston responded to the profile, the officer added that he would be with his two children ages 9 and 11, to which Gaston responded, "Please clarify. You are wanting your children to participate?" Gaston continued to communicate with the officer, expressing sexually explicit suggestive plans regarding the officer's purported minor children. Gaston was arrested when he arrived at a meeting purportedly to meet with the officer and the children.

"Protecting children from the depravity of defendants like Gaston is among our highest priorities as a law enforcement community," said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. "These sanctions deter others from engaging in such devastatingly harmful conduct, and we will continue to seek them in all cases where vulnerable members of our community are targeted in this manner."

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. Led by U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case is the result of an operation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib is prosecuting the case.