Fairfield Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Coercion of a Child

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kevin Blaine Cline, 47, of Fairfield, pleaded guilty today to attempted online coercion of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 1, 2019, an undercover agent observed Cline’s post on the social media platform Whisper that said he was “Looking for dad’s (sic) who love their daughters near me I … Have a question.” The notation at the bottom of Cline’s post said, “Freaky Sexual Desires.” The undercover agent, posing as a dad, engaged in a two-day conversation on Whisper with Cline, and Cline sent the agent two images of child pornography. Cline planned a meeting with the “dad” and “daughter” in order to sexually molest her. Cline then drove from Fairfield to Pleasant Hill to meet up with what he believed to be a seven‑year-old girl. When Cline arrived, however, he was placed under arrest.

The factual basis of the plea agreement contains a description of the sexual activity that Cline wanted to engage in with the seven-year-old girl, as well as sexual acts he planned to perform with a 10-year-old girl in Washington state.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (SVICAC) a federally and state-funded task force with agents from federal, state, and local agencies that investigates online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement, and sex trafficking. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation as part of the SVIAC. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.

Cline is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on Oct. 18, 2021. Cline faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ 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.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.