Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced James Tyra Bowman, age 30, of Appleton, Wisconsin, to 270 months in federal prison following his convictions for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. The Court further sentenced Bowman to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered him to complete sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender upon his release.
Bowman, while in Wisconsin, used social media applications and the name “Genius_Outlaw” to attempt to convince someone he believed was an 11-year-old girl in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to have an illegal sexual relationship with him. Bowman offered her gifts to entice her to engage in the sexual acts. The 11-year-old girl was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Bowman also sent the undercover officer a picture of himself and his genitals and demanded that she send him sexually explicit videos and images of herself. Bowman also planned an arrangement to train the supposed 11-year-old girl (undercover officer) in illegal sex acts in Wisconsin. Bowman was arrested by law enforcement in January of 2024. Bowman was previously convicted and sentenced for child sexual exploitation crimes in Wisconsin in 2017.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner, who also serves as Deputy Criminal Chief.
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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.