A Columbus man has admitted to attempting to send obscene material to a minor during an undercover investigation, according to U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.
Jacob Curtis Wyckoff, 25, pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor. He could face up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
The plea was entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan. Sentencing will be scheduled by U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Wyckoff was released pending further proceedings.
Court documents reveal that law enforcement in the Billings area conducted an undercover operation in January 2023 targeting individuals with a sexual interest in children. The operation involved an undercover persona posing as a 14-year-old female on social media. On January 26, 2023, Wyckoff contacted this persona on KIK under the profile name "Jake Smith." Despite being informed that she was "almost 15," Wyckoff engaged in increasingly sexual communications from January through July 14, 2023, expressing a desire for a sexual encounter with the supposed child. On July 6, he sent an explicit image and made suggestive comments.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office following investigations by the FBI, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Laurel Police Department, and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide by leveraging federal, state, and local resources for better apprehension and prosecution of offenders while identifying and rescuing victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit Justice.gov/PSC.