NEWARK, N.J. — A German man was sentenced to 240 months in prison for traveling to New Jersey for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor following an investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark.
Christian Stefan Walther, 40, of Erfurt, Germany, was sentenced Dec. 18 and previously pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark.
“Walther thought he was traveling to America to act upon his deviant desires, but our agency’s advanced technology employed in this investigation led him on a different path straight to prison,” said HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “Predators who try to hide in the shadows of dark web sites or encrypted platforms should be warned that HSI is committed to exposing and arresting criminals involved in the online enterprise of child sexual abuse material. We commend the New Jersey State police for their support in our investigation leading up to the arrest of Walther shortly after he landed at the airport.”
According to the investigation, law enforcement authorities began investigating Walther around January 2023 for child exploitation offenses. Two undercover officers communicated with Walther via email, phone, and an encrypted messaging app concerning Walther’s desire for sexual encounters with young children. Walther sent an undercover officer two videos, each of which depicted an adult male engaging in sexual conduct with a prepubescent aged female child. Walther also expressed his desire to engage in sexual conduct with children aged 8 to 12, described in graphic detail the sex acts he planned to commit against the children, and explained that he had lied to his friends in Germany about the purpose of his trip to the United States. Walther agreed to pay U.S. currency for access to the children.
On March 23, 2023, Walther traveled from Germany to New Jersey to meet the undercover officers in advance of what he believed would be a sexual encounter with one or more children at a hotel. Upon his arrest, Walther admitted that he traveled to the United States to have sex with children under 12.
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Know2Protect (K2P) is a national public awareness campaign from the Department of Homeland Security. K2P’s aim is to educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults, and policymakers to prevent, combat, and report online child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information, please visit our YouTube playlists at Know2Protect Campaign PSA Playlist and Know2Protect Digital Safety Series Playlist on the DHS main channel. Additional resources are available at know2protect.gov, Instagram, Facebook and X.