Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Kevin Leslie Gipson, 58, of Oroville, pleaded guilty today to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.
According to court documents, in July 2024 Gipson communicated with an individual he believed to be the father of a 10-year-old girl, but who was in fact an undercover officer. Gipson communicated his desire to perform sex acts on the child and planned to meet the undercover officer and child at a hotel room to do so. Gipson purchased various sex items in preparation for the meeting and bought a stuffed animal with the intent to provide the stuffed animal to the child. When Gipson approached the undercover officer with the stuffed animal, he was arrested by law enforcement officers.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office, the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case.
Gipson is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Feb. 5, 2026. Gipson faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.