Bend repeat offender gets 20-year federal prison term for seeking explicit image online from ‘teen’ who was detective
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) —A Deschutes County sex offender with a prior felony conviction for encouraging child sex abuse was sentenced to a 20-year federal prison Thursday after he requested a sexually explicit image online from an individual he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Roger Clint Lee Vanwormer, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and a life term of supervised release, federal prosecutors said.
According to court documents, while on supervision and wearing an ankle monitor, Vanwormer requested a sexually explicit image online from an individual he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Vanwormer further engaged in explicit discussions with the purported minor and arranged to meet. On July 27, 2021, Vanwormer was arrested in Bend when he showed up at the arranged meeting location.
Bend Police said at the time that Vanwormer was arrested in a Third Street supermarket parking lot, accused of trying to meet and have sex with a "teen girl" he met online, who actually was a police detective.
On February 17, 2022, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned a three-count indictment charging Vanwormer with attempted sexual exploitation of a child, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and commission of a felony involving a minor by a registered sex offender. Vanwormer pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child.
This case was investigated by the Bend Police Department, with assistance from the FBI. It was prosecuted by Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children is encouraged to call the FBI at (503) 224-4181 or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
