Wisconsin man gets 11 years for planned child tryst
A Wisconsin man was sentenced Thursday to more than a decade in federal prison after he was caught in a Houston undercover sting he believed was a rendezvous with a 4-yearold girl.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered Benjamin David Sherwood, 42, to serve just over 11 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime on supervised release. The judge noted that Sherwood had a juvenile court record of sexual assault in Wisconsin and had been battling a sexual interest in children for many years, according a news release from the U.S. Justice Department.
Sherwood pleaded guilty Aug. 23 to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit contact and enticing a minor.
A special agent with Homeland Security Investigation’s cyber unit encountered Sherwood during a 2015 undercover operation in a chat room dedicated to discussion and shared images about abuse of children and infants, according to court documents.
The agent identified herself as the mother of a 2-year-old named Lexi who was offering up her fictional daughter for exploitation.
During a series of chat, email, text and phone conversations with the agent between August 10, 2015, and May 12, 2017, Sherwood expressed interest in traveling from La Crosse, Wis., to Houston for several days to have sexual contact with the child, according to court documents. He stated during these conversations that he did not have relationships with adult women because he was only aroused by small children. He also stated that he knew it was illegal to cross state lines to have sex with a minor.
The sting took place in 2017 after Sherwood began pressing for the trip to happen, at which time the federal agent said the fictitious child was now 4. He sent an image of his rental car on May 11. The following day he sent a message saying, “I’m very excited I can barely stand it. Finally get to love on your baby Angel.”
He went on to say he had brought blankets and a video to distract the child during the sex acts, according to case documents. Federal agents maintained surveillance on Sherwood as he stopped at a Babies R Us in Houston and checked into the hotel where they’d planned to meet, according to an affidavit. Sherwood was arrested at the designated meeting place.
During a search of the hotel room, agents found pacifiers and lubricant on the nightstand, court documents say. In a closet, they found stuffed animals, children’s outfits and a pink sign that said “sweet baby girl.”