United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR TRAVELING FROM NEW YORK TO TEXAS
TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH 14-YEAR-OLD MINOR

DALLAS — A man who traveled from New York to Dallas for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a 14-year-old minor boy, was sentenced today in federal court in Dallas, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Donald Brantman, Jr., 29, of New York, New York, a convicted sex offender, was sentenced today by U.S. Chief District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to a total of 288 months (24 years) in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

According to documents filed in the case, during the week of March 17, 2008, Brantman communicated over the Internet using Yahoo! Instant Messenger with D.M., a 14-year-old male. At that time, Brantman informed D.M. that he was an adult and D.M. informed Brantman that he was 14 years-old. Brantman informed D.M. that he wanted to be D.M.’s “boyfriend.”

During their ensuing conversations via cell phone and instant messaging, Brantman conveyed a desire to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Brantman even conveyed a desire to marry D.M., regardless of D.M.’s age. To these ends, both Brantman and D.M. discussed Brantman traveling from New York to Hunt County, Texas.

On March 28, 2008, Brantman left New York on a Greyhound bus for Texas with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with D.M. The following day he arrived in Dallas, and agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him shortly after his arrival. He has been in custody since that time.

Brantman was required to register as a sex offender after he was convicted in 1999 in New York of attempted sodomy of a minor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshals Service and the Texas Rangers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem prosecuted the case.

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