After deliberating for two hours, following a three-day trial, the jury convicted 27-year old Daniel J. Zulawski of attempted online enticement of a minor.
According to testimony at trial, Zulawski traveled from Lexington to Frankfort after communicating with an undercover officer on the Kik application, during which they discussed his engaging in sexual relations with the undercover mother and her fictitious 11 and 13 year-old children. Evidence revealed that Zulawski initially responded to a Craigslist ad posted by the undercover officer, which indicated she was a mother interested in incest.
Zulawski was indicted in May 2018. The criminal conduct occurred between January 16, 2018 and January 17, 2018. He traveled from Lexington, where he was staying for a week of training for the U.S. Army, to Frankfort on January 17, 2018, when he was arrested.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Richard F. Ferretti, Special Agent in Charge, Louisville Field Office of the United States Secret Service; and Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly announced the guilty verdict.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command at Ft. Campbell, and the Kentucky Office of Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Branch. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Marye and Will Moynahan.
Zulawski will appear for sentencing on March 18, 2020. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, as well as a maximum $250,000 fine. However, the Court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal sentencing statutes before imposing a sentence.
-- Eastern District of Kentucky