A German man was sentenced yesterday to 240 months in prison for traveling to New Jersey to engage in sexual conduct with a child.
Christian Stefan Walther, 40, of Erfurt, Germany, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, law enforcement authorities began investigating Walther around January 2023 for child exploitation offenses.
Two undercover officers communicated with Walther via email, phone, and an encrypted messaging app concerning Walther’s desire for sexual encounters with young children. Walther sent an undercover officer two videos, each of which depicted an adult male engaging in sexual conduct with a prepubescent-aged female child.
Walther also expressed his desire to engage in sexual conduct with children aged 8 to 12, described in graphic detail the sex acts he planned to commit against the children, and explained that he had lied to his friends in Germany about the purpose of his trip to the United States.
Walther agreed to pay U.S. currency for access to the children.
On March 23, 2023, Walther traveled from Germany to New Jersey to meet the undercover officers in advance of what he believed would be a sexual encounter with one or more children at a hotel.
Upon his arrest, Walther admitted that he traveled to the United States to have sex with children under 12.