A Texas teen mentor and founder of a nonprofit youth organization pleaded guilty Monday to the charge of sexual exploitation of a child, also known as production of child pornography, announced Abe Martinez, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.
Kevin Ray McMillan, 37, may face anywhere from 15 to 30 years behind bars with a $250,000 fine as a result of his conviction. According to police documents, McMillan briefly mentored teenagers at the Boys and Girls Clubs of America in Corpus Christi from about October 2016 until December 2016. He also founded Texas Youth Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit youth organization that claimed to mentor aspiring future business owners.
In May, Corpus Christi police learned from the parents of a 13-year-old girl that McMillan had sent sexually explicit text messages to their daughter. The female minor identified a second juvenile, a 14-year-old girl who McMillan also communicated with by cell phone. Investigators met with and forensically interviewed this other youth, dubbed “Jane Doe,” and her parents. The 14-year-old disclosed she engaged in sex acts with McMillan at an area recording studio he allegedly used for his business, Texas Youth Entrepreneurs. Officers examined her cell phone, finding the image of a male performing oral sex on a female, which Jane Doe confirmed as herself and McMillan.
Subsequently, Corpus Christi police obtained an arrest warrant and apprehended McMillan on May 18 while he traveled to purportedly meet Jane Doe and engage in sexual activity, the criminal complaint stated. McMillan denied any physical contact with the girl beyond hugging, although he admitted to exchanging text messages and having flirtatious conversations. However, when investigators showed McMillan the photo of a male performing oral sex on a female he identified the man in the photo as himself. He denied taking any cell phone shots and said he did not know Jane Doe took any pictures. He told officers they were alone in the studio when the sex act occurred. McMillan also admitted he asked Jane Doe to have a three-way with other minors. He has remained in police custody since his arrest.
In late May, the Boys and Girls Clubs issued a statement indicating: “…we have no reason to believe that the alleged incident involved any Club members of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Bend, nor occurred in any of our Club facilities,” according to KRIS.
U.S. District Judge John Rainey set McMillan’s sentencing date for January 22, 2018. In addition to serving prison time, McMillan could face supervised release after completion of his sentence. In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s office noted the court may also impose special conditions that limit or eliminate his exposure to children and prohibit his use of the Internet.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Shepherded by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. Homeland Security Investigations led the probe, aided by the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
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