Virginia Man Sentenced to Prison for Sex Offense Against a Minor

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Virginia man was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor. Austin James Quesenberry, 28, of Dublin, Virginia, must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 21, 2021, Quesenberry traveled from Virginia to St. Albans, West Virginia, in order to meet a minor he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, including sexual intercourse. He also sent the purported minor videos of himself masturbating.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's 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 sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-11.

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