June 21, 2024 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ryan Davidek, 40, of Lincoln, pleaded guilty on Thursday to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

According to court documents, in 2016, Davidek began a sexual relationship with a middle school child whom he had met online. Over the course of several years, Davidek booked hotel rooms and traveled across state lines, as well as transported the victim from another state to the Eastern District of California, to commit criminal sexual conduct.   

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexis Klein and Christina McCall are prosecuting the case.

Davidek is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Oct. 3, 2024. Davidek faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, restitution as determined by the court, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Source: DOJ Release