A Ventura County man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to sex trafficking two minors just months after his release from state prison for child sex crimes, prosecutors said.
Kai Whitney Sommers, 38, of Ventura, pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of minors. Sommers, a registered sex offender, has remained in federal custody since June 2024.
Quick Facts
- Defendant: Kai Whitney Sommers, 38, of Ventura
- Charge: Sex trafficking of minors
- Status: Pleaded guilty in federal court
- Prior conviction: 2021 child sex crimes case in Los Angeles County
- Released from prison: June 2023
- New crimes began: About 2½ months after release
- Victims: Two teenage girls, ages 14 and 16
- Allegations: Online coercion, escort ads, CSAM possession and distribution
- CSAM found: Nearly 150 images/videos, according to prosecutors
- Possible sentence: 15 years to life in federal prison
- Sentencing date: Sept. 24
- Investigating agencies: FBI and Ventura Police Department
According to court documents and his plea agreement, Sommers previously was convicted in Los Angeles County in September 2021 of statutory rape and lewd acts involving a child. Prosecutors said he used an online chat room to lure a minor with promises of making money as an escort before sexually assaulting the victim.
Sommers was released from state prison in June 2023 under post-release community supervision. Conditions of his supervision prohibited him from possessing or accessing internet-capable digital devices.
About two and a half months after his release, Ventura County probation officers searched Sommers’ residence and discovered digital devices containing child sexual abuse material, commonly known as CSAM, authorities said. Investigators also found he had been communicating online with a minor through a messaging platform geared toward teenagers.
Federal investigators later identified a 16-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl whom Sommers met through the platform. Prosecutors said Sommers persuaded the minors to move conversations to a secure messaging application, where he coached them on how to make money as escorts.
Authorities said Sommers convinced one victim to create CSAM and persuaded the other victim to send fully clothed photographs that he later used in online commercial sex advertisements. The ads falsely described both victims as “18-year-old” escorts.
Prosecutors said Sommers also impersonated the victims while communicating with adult clients and instructed the minors to claim they were 18 if questioned about their age.
Court records state Sommers arranged meetings between one victim and two adult men through an adult website. Commercial sex acts occurred during both encounters in exchange for money.
Sommers also admitted possessing nearly 150 images of CSAM and distributing the material in August 2023.
U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24. Sommers faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and could receive a life sentence.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ventura Police Department investigated the case.