Johnson County man charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor
A Lenexa man faces federal sex trafficking charges after he allegedly planned to pay for sex with a 15-year-old, court records show.
Curtis Gibson, 47, was charged Tuesday with attempted sex trafficking of a minor in U.S. District Court in Kansas City. His first court appearance was Thursday; he was assigned a public defender.
Gibson was charged after an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old posted an advertisement on a commercial sex website. Between June 8 and 9, Gibson arranged to meet the minor to engage in sexual acts in exchange for money, according to court records.
A log of texts and parts of recorded calls with Gibson detailed how the undercover officer told him several times that they were 15 years old.
Gibson asked for pornographic images of the minor, and sent photos of himself, according to court documents.
Officers arrested Gibson at a hotel in North Kansas City, where he had arranged to meet the purported minor. Instead, undercover officers were waiting for him.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI worked with local law enforcement agencies, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and North Kansas City Police Department in the undercover operation.
According to prosecutors, the operation was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Gibson is due to appear in court again at 10:30 a.m. June 16 for a preliminary hearing.
