Swim official gets 10+ years for attempting online enticement of a minor

Ernest Harvey Shepherd from Augusta, Georgia thought he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl when he was suggesting “skinny-dipping and lunch”, offering to bring wine coolers and to go to an Econo Lodge, before the FBI Cyber Crimes Child Exploitation Task Force finally busted him upon arrival at a prearranged location to engage in sexual acts with invented person. Parents of a 16-year-old had notified the police in May after they saw “questionable online communications” on Facebook between their daughter and Shepherd, who had met the teen while working as an official at swim meets. Resulting in investigation that identified 25 other girls between age 12 and 17 whom Shepherd had inappropriate communication with online. Now he got 10 years, 10 months in federal prison, and 20 years of supervised release, with requirement to register as a sex offender. Read The Augusta Chronicle via The Swimmers Circle