Grand Jury Charges Peoria Teacher With Enticing A Minor For Sex

Peoria, Ill. – A federal grand jury today returned an indictment charging a Peoria, Ill., teacher with enticement of a minor. Amanda May Ludwig, 28, a teacher at Manual High School in Peoria, Ill., was previously arrested and charged with the offense in a federal criminal complaint filed on Feb. 4, 2013.

Following Ludwig’s arrest, she appeared on Feb. 11, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm in Peoria. Ludwig was released from custody to a third-party custodian under home incarceration.

The indictment alleges that from about Aug. 4, 2012, to Jan 31, 2013, Ludwig used a cellular telephone to entice a minor, under the age of 18, to engage in sexual activity.

The charges were investigated by the Peoria Police Department with assistance from officers of Peoria School District 150. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Keith.

If convicted, the statutory penalty for the offense is 10 years to life in prison.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.