Man Pleads Guilty to 3 Child Sexual Abuse Felonies After Attempting to Meet With Undercover Officer Posing as Child in 2023
NORFOLK, Va. — Kenneth Ryan Tressler, 26, pleaded guilty on Thursday to using a computer to procure a minor for obscene material, solicitation of prostitution from a minor, and attempting to commit indecent liberties with a minor after he chatted with and attempted to meet with an undercover Norfolk Police officer posing as a child.
On April 17, 2023, Mr. Tressler responded to an anonymous social media post written by an undercover Norfolk Police officer posing as a 13-year-old. The post was not sexual in nature, but Mr. Tressler asked the undercover officer if she was interested in having a sexual encounter, and the undercover officer responded that she was 13 years old. That did not deter Mr. Tressler, and he continued conversing with the undercover officer nearly every day for the next month. Mr. Tressler repeatedly offered the undercover officer money in exchange for oral sex and other sexual activity, and he arranged to meet with the undercover officer on May 16. After Mr. Tressler arrived at the location where he had arranged to meet the undercover officer, investigators arrested him.
On Thursday, Mr. Tressler pleaded guilty to using a computer to procure a minor for obscene material, solicitation of prostitution from a minor under age 16, and attempting to commit indecent liberties with a minor under age 15 — all felonies. In exchange for Mr. Tressler’s plea, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss additional counts of those offenses. The plea agreement leaves the sentence totally in the hands of the sentencing judge. Judge Tasha D. Scott accepted Mr. Tressler’s plea agreement and set his sentencing on Oct. 11.
“People who seek to exploit children are threats to our communities,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Public safety requires that we prosecute the people who commit these crimes, and we will seek a sentence that fits Mr. Tressler’s offenses.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie G. Johnson is prosecuting Mr. Tressler’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Robert. E. Broadbent led the investigation.
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