HOLLY SPRINGS MAN INDICTED IN WESTERN N.C. ON ALLEGATIONS OF COERCION AND ENTICEMENT OF A MINOR BY COMPUTER VIA THE INTERNET

Individual Arrested in Boone on September 25, 2006

CHARLOTTE, NC - Frederick Stephen Klee, also known as “SERIOUSWOODY” and “WOODY IN RALEIGH,” 41 years old, of Holly Springs, North Carolina, was criminally charged Friday, September 29, 2006 by the federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in a federal bill of indictment alleging that he, being over the age of 18 years, did knowingly, by means of a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, that is by computer via the Internet, attempt to persuade an individual whom he believed had not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the Western District of North Carolina.

Joining Shappert in today’s announcement was North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and Nathan Thomas Gray, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Operations in North Carolina.
“Each day our children face a serious danger via the Internet,” Shappert warned. “Levels of abuse are escalating, and children presently face greater danger from sexual predators than ever before,” she said.

Defendant Klee was taken into custody on Monday morning, September 25, 2006 in Boone, North Carolina by Special Agents of the FBI, SBI and Officers of the Boone Police Department. He was ordered detained in federal custody without bond on Thursday, September 28, 2006. Klee is presently scheduled to be arraigned on the charge contained in the indictment on October 12, 2006.

If convicted, Frederick Stephen Klee faces no less than 10 years in federal prison (commonly known as a “mandatory minimum” sentence) and a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000 on the one count. The mandatory minimum penalty for this particular federal offense was elevated as of July 2006.
DEFENDANTS ARE ENTITLED TO A PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE UNDER THE LAW, AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS THE BURDEN OF PROVING EVERY ELEMENT OF THE CHARGES BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.

United States Attorney Gretchen Shappert commended the work of North Carolina’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force on this case. The North Carolina ICAC is made up of local, state, and federal law enforcement, and is led by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation of the North Carolina Department of Justice. “U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country are all participating in a new Justice Department initiative, ‘Project Safe Childhood,’ which aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Though the Internet may have emboldened offenders for a short while, this positive undertaking is about more aggressive law enforcement activity, as evidenced by this case, about training parents and kids to become more aware of the dangers online and more responsible in the way they use the Internet, and about partnering with large and influential non-governmental organizations, like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.” Shappert said.

FREDERICK STEPHEN KLEE
DOCKET NUMBER 5:06CR52-V
DOB: 2/16/65
801 Bonhurst Drive
Holly Springs, NC