Man walked more than 350 miles to meet up with 14-year-old he met online, prosecutors say

Dillon Thompson
Updated ·2 min read

A man walked across multiple states during a 351-mile journey to have sex with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, CNN reported.

Tommy Lee Jenkins, 32, traveled on foot from a suburb of Indianapolis all the way to Neenah, Wisc., where he planned to meet, "Kylee," a girl he'd been talking to on Facebook.

However, "Kylee" was actually Winnebago County Sheriff's deputy working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to prosecutors.

Jenkins received a friend request from the profile, and soon began sending explicit messages. Prosecutors said the 32-year-old asked "Kylee" if she'd ever had sex, and asked her to send specific, revealing photos.

At one point, Jenkins sent a message saying the two should "have 500 kids before we are with GOD." He also told "Kylee" he wanted to have a child with her within the next year.

He then asked her if she wanted him to visit her in Wisconsin. Jenkins later sent a message telling the girl he was en route — and traveling on foot.

"I will tell you when i get to neenah 108 hours by walking," he said in a message, the criminal complaint against him alleges.

Jenkins allegedly sent photos of his journey, including state signs and selfies from his walk. When he reached Wisconsin, he messaged "Kylee" and told her someone had bought him a bus ticket for the remainder of his journey.

Police arrested Jenkins when he arrived in Neenah last week. He now faces 10 years to life in prison, if convicted.

"Our nation faces an epidemic of child sexual abuse, with the Internet making it too easy for predators to communicate with children across the country," United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger told CNN in a statement. "The Justice Department is committed to working with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute child sexual abuse aggressively."

Jenkins had previously been accused of assaulting children in 2011, according to the Oshkosh Northwestern. Those charges stemmed from separate incidents involving two young boys — aged 7 and 8. Jenkins ultimately pled no contest and was sentenced to four years of probation.