Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man received a combined sentence of 87 months in prison after pleading guilty in two separate cases related to criminal misconduct involving minors.
According to court documents, Daniel Paul Prekopa, 46, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of attempted travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. In a separate case, Prekopa pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child sexual abuse materials.
In September 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified the Wichita Police Department about a cybertip concerning child sexual abuse materials uploaded to a Dropbox account. Law enforcement confirmed through investigation that the account to belonged to Prekopa. The materials depicted children under the age of 12 years old engaged in sexual conduct.
In a separate investigation in September 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Child Exploitation Task Force engaged in covert chat sessions on platforms known to be frequented by adults attempting to lure children into sexual acts. An undercover agent posing as a minor received a direct message from a user later to be confirmed as Daniel Prekopa. Prekopa sent provocative photos of himself and made sexually illicit comments during multiple exchanges with whom he thought to be a minor, at one point writing, “I could get in major trouble since you’re under 16. But idc either” and “And you have damn cops online trying to catfish people to get them in trouble”.
FBI agents arrested Prekopa after he traveled from Kansas City, Missouri, to Overland Park, Kansas, for the intended purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a person under the age of 18.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), and the Wichita Police Department investigated the cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Faiza Alhambra prosecuted the cases.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.
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