A 34-year-old Honolulu resident was indicted Thursday for first-degree electronic enticement of a child.
The indictment was handed down by an Oahu grand jury, said Attorney General Doug Chin. According to the allegations, Jacob Landon Powers, via online messaging on his mobile phone, communicated with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl and arranged to meet her for the purpose of sex. He then arrived at the time and place they had agreed.
He was arrested when he arrived for the meeting, according to the Attorney General.
The investigation was conducted by the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children task force in the Attorney General’s office. The prosecution is also being handled by that office.
“Luring a minor to have sex is a horrible crime. Not only is the act itself criminal, it can damage the child for the rest of that child’s life. We will vigorously prosecute anyone who does this,” Chin said in a prepared release.
Electronic enticement of a child in the first degree is a class B felony punishable by 10 years in prison without the possibility of probation. Bail was set at $11,000 and a bench warrant was issued for Powers’ arrest.