A man who planned to accustom a child to sexual acts pleaded guilty

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A Wisconsin man faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to trying to coerce a minor who turned out to be an undercover police officer.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that James Tyra Bowman, 30, of Appleton, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor in federal court in Baton Rouge.

Law enforcement arrested Bowman in January.

According to the Justice Department, Bowman sent indecent photos of himself to an undercover law enforcement officer posing as an 11-year-old girl and demanded that she send him candid videos and images of herself. He also planned an arrangement where he would have her for a period of time to teach her about illicit intercourse in Wisconsin.

During his plea, Bowman admitted to using social media apps and the name “Genius_Outlaw” to try to convince someone he believed to be an 11-year-old girl to have an illicit sexual relationship with him, officials said.

In addition to a possible life sentence for his conviction, officials say Bowman also faces a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release, which includes sex offender registration requirements.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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