NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

DECEMBER 21, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOUISIANA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO TRANSPORTING

15-YEAR-OLD GIRL FOR ILLICIT SEX

            SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Violet, La., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to transporting a minor across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity.

            Neil Scott Kramer, 40, of Violet, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr this morning to the charge contained in an April 2, 2009, federal indictment.

            Kramer met a 15-year-old girl at the Bull’s Eye Convenience Store in Cabool, Mo., on Nov. 10, 2008, and took her to Louisiana, where they stayed in Kramer’s RV for several days.

            Kramer and the minor victim had been communicating via text messages for about six months prior to their meeting in Cabool. After picking her up at the convenience store, Kramer drove her to the Comfort Inn in Willow Springs, Mo., where they spent the night and engaged in sexual intercourse. They drove to Louisiana the next day, and engaged in sexual intercourse while staying at Kramer’s RV.

            Kramer took the victim to a bar in Poydras, La., on Nov. 14, 2008, and bought her three shots of alcohol, which she drank. A short time later, the victim sent a text message to her mother, claiming that she had been kidnapped. Her mother notified law enforcement authorities, who arrested Kramer in the bar’s parking lot.

            Under federal statutes, Kramer is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Kelleher. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Texas County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the St. Bernard Parish, La., Sheriff’s Department.

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www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html