DENVER
A federal judge sentenced a Nevada man to 10 years in prison for traveling across state lines from Las Vegas to Denver to have sex with a woman’s children, according to officials.
The woman turned out to be an undercover federal agent posing online as a mother of two minor children, officials said.
Brian Franklin Howard, 38, of Las Vegas, plead guilty on Sept. to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a 10-year-old minor child. He has been in custody since his arrest on April 2.
U.S. District Judge Christine M. Arguello of Colorado also on Wednesday ordered Howard to 10 years of supervised release.
In separate arrests, law enforcement in Denver also arrested two other men for traveling to Colorado believing they were going to have sex with minors, officials said.
According to the plea agreement, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agent, posing undercover as a single mother of two minor children, came into contact with Howard online.
According to Fox News, Howard took photos of his penis and sent them to the agent, indicating that he would like her to show the photos to her daughters. He then arranged to meet her and her children in Denver. He flew from Las Vegas to Denver, where he was met by an undercover agent at Denver’s airport. The office said he confirmed his intent to have sex with the children and was arrested, Fox reported.
Authorities told Fox that Matthew Hornung, 33, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was also arrested on March 28. Hornung also met a special agent online. Hornung drove from Pennsylvania to Colorado with the intent of meeting the mother and her two children.
Fox reported that Hornung made it to Colorado, but his vehicle started to fail before he reached Greeley, Colorado. He was arrested after he approached a marked Colorado State Patrol car for assistance, according to Fox.
Hornung faces one count of travel with invent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
These arrests come after a St. Louis man pled guilty to similar charges. Darwin Gowen, 62, pled guilty in federal court March 31 to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Officials also said Gowen also met an Homeland Security special agent who was using the persona of a single mother with two children. He flew from Missouri to Denver and was arrested at Denver International Airport after confirming his intent to have sex with the children
Gowen faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, according officials.