LawFuel.com – ST. LOUIS MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON AFTER TRAVELING TO DENVER TO HAVE SEX WITH MOTHER AND TWO MINOR DAUGHTERS
The mother was actually a Homeland Security Investigations undercover agent
DENVER – Darwin Gilbert Gowen, age 62, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve 135 months (just over 11 years) in federal prison, followed by 10 years on supervised release for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced. Gowen, who appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody, was remanded at its conclusion.
Gowen was first charged by Criminal Complaint on June 20, 2014. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on July 2, 2014. He pled guilty before Judge Jackson on March 31, 2015. He was sentenced on June 16, 2015.
According to court documents, Gowen was arrested by HSI agents at Denver International Airport (DIA) after he traveled with intent to have sex with two minor children. Specifically, the investigation began when an HSI special agent based in Greeley, Colorado, who was working in an undercover capacity as a 37-year-old single mother of two minor daughters, ages 15 and 11, came into contact with Gowen. The special agent, acting in the undercover persona, communicated with the defendant who expressed an interest in having sex with the mother and both daughters.
During the conversations, which took place primarily via email and text, the defendant stated that he was “a 60 year old male, widowed . . . wanting to experience the wild side of life.” He also said he “adored chubby girls” . . . and was “looking for naughty daughters . . . who love to hook up with a kinky mom for mom daughter fun.” Further investigation revealed that the individual was the defendant, Gowen, of St. Louis, Missouri.
Gowen told the undercover agent that he was going to fly to Denver to see her and have sex with her and her daughters. HSI agents confirmed that the defendant had arranged to fly to Denver on June 19th. On that date, he flew from St. Louis to DIA. Gowen met a female HSI agent, who purported to be the mother of the two minor children, at the DIA baggage claim. After the two discussed that he flew to Denver for the express purpose of having sex with the two minor children, he was arrested.
This case was investigate by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The Denver Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol assisted with the arrest at DIA.
Gowen was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alecia Riewerts, the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the District of Colorado.
This 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 United States 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.
[table id=9 /]
