Woodhull Man Sentenced to 240 Months in Prison for Attempted Crimes Against Children

ROCK ISLAND, ILL. – A Woodhull, Illinois, man, Scott Edward Raschke, 39, of the 200 block of Southeast Third Avenue, was sentenced on September 21, 2023, to 240 months of imprisonment for Attempted Sex Trafficking of Children, Attempted Enticement of a Minor, and Sexual Exploitation of a Child. He was further sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release  and a $300.00 special assessment.  

At the sentencing hearing, the government proffered evidence that Raschke engaged in a months’ long online conversation in which he arranged to pay for sex with an eleven-year-old child. Ultimately, Raschke traveled to Moline, Illinois to meet the eleven-year-old for sex and to take sexually explicit photos of the child. Upon arriving in Moline, Raschke was apprehended by law enforcement.    

Also at the hearing, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow discussed the seriousness of Raschke’s conduct, commenting on graphic nature of the conversations Raschke engaged in and his intent to memorialize the abuse of a child.

Raschke pled guilty to the charges in May of 2023. The statutory penalties for the offenses are a minimum of 15 years up to life imprisonment for Attempted Sex Trafficking of Children, a minimum of 15 years up to 30 years imprisonment for Sexual Exploitation of a Child, and a minimum of 10 years up to life imprisonment for Attempted Enticement of a Minor. The convictions also provided for a term of supervised release from five years to life.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Mathew represented the federal government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.