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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Wayne Allen Ginnis, 28, of Seattle, Washington, was arraigned January 11, 2012 in United States District Court in Pocatello, Idaho on a charge of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to have sexual activity with the minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Ginnis entered a not guilty plea. Ginnis and co-defendant James Russell Ashley were indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2011. Ashley, 47, of Augusta, Georgia, was arraigned on August 24, 2011. The indictment alleges that on or about May 2, 2011, Ashley and Ginnis purchased bus tickets for two girls, ages 12 and 13, both from Pocatello, Idaho to travel to Hollywood, California, with the intent to engage in sexual activity with the girls. The girls and the men met on an Internet game site and later talked by cell phone. The girls were intercepted by police in St. George, Utah, and returned to their home.
Response and intervention
Trial for both defendants is set for February 14, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Pocatello. The charge of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to have sexual activity with the minor is punishable by a minimum term of ten years up to life in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to lifetime supervised release. The case was investigated by the Pocatello Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Marshals Service. As of January 2012, both men were in federal custody in Pocatello, Idaho. No aftercare reported.