Cahokia man charged with having sex with 14-year-old in Philippines after Facebook chats
A Cahokia man is facing three federal charges that allege he traveled to the Philippines to have sex with a 14-year-old girl after communicating with her on Facebook.
Joseph A. Fuchs III was indicted by a grand jury on April 21 and arrested and arraigned on Thursday. He appeared at a detention hearing Monday morning in U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Illinois.
Magistrate Judge Mark A. Beatty didn’t allow Fuchs to be released on bond Monday. He took the matter under advisement, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan D. Stump, one of the prosecutors.
Fuchs is charged with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
The indictment had been suppressed until after Fuchs was arrested. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. His trial is set to begin June 15 at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis.
“Beginning on or about November 2, 2017, the defendant used a computer and cellular phone ... to chat over Facebook with MV-1, a 14-year-old girl residing in the Philippines,” according to the enticement charge in the indictment.
“During their ensuing chats, the defendant offered to travel to the Philippines to have (sex) with MV-1, who he knew to be under sixteen years old. On or about February 14, 2018, the defendant traveled from Saint Clair County, Illinois, to the Philippines to meet MV-1 for sex.
“From on or about February 5, 2018, until on or about July 17, 2019 ... the defendant used PayPal and Xoom to send MV-1 over $1,000.”
The indictment alleges that Fuchs engaged in a sexual act with the 14-year-old girl between Feb. 14 and Feb. 23, 2018. He was 50 at the time.
The indictment provides that, if Fuchs is convicted, he must forfeit his laptop, two cellphones and any other materials containing images of child pornography.
Fuchs is being represented by attorney Adam Fein, of Rosenblum, Schwartz & Fry in Clayton, Missouri.
If convicted on the enticement charge, Fuchs could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Fairview Heights. The other two charges carry maximum prison terms of 30 years each. All are punishable by up to $250,000 in fines.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of children sexual exploitation and abuse,” the news release stated.
