Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Helena on April 11, 2008, before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles C. Lovell, DANIEL DIETZ, a 37-year-old resident of Helena, pled guilty to coercion and enticement and transfer of obscene material to minors. Sentencing is set for August 29, 2008. He is currently detained.

In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

DIETZ was 36 years old when he met a thirteen-year-old girl at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Helena. DIETZ searched out the girl's My Space account and requested that he be placed on her friends list, which she did. DIETZ began e-mailing and chatting with the girl via computer and the Internet, making comments about how cute the girl was and how he wished he was 13 again, and how he could get in trouble for doing something with a 13-year-old girl. His conversations with her turned sexual and he sent her a picture of his erect penis, telling her to be sure to erase the picture and their chats off the computer so no one could see. He used a computer and cell phone to entice the girl into sexual activity, and they had sexual intercourse several times in Helena.

DIETZ faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervision.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd prosecuted the case for the United States.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Helena Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.