A former professor in the Stockton area who sought to travel to Fresno to attempt sexual abuse on a fictitious 7-year-old child was found guilty of attempted enticement of a minor and receipt and distribution of sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Rodger Githens, 48, of West Sacramento, faces 10 years to life in prison for the attempted enticement charge alone. He is scheduled for sentencing July 20.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Githens used an account on Grindr, which is known as a hookup app and the world\u2019s largest social networking platform for the LGBTQ+ community, to initiate contact with an undercover agent.<\/p>\n
Githen encouraged the agent to establish a Telegram account, which he considered more secure, then confessed being into \u201cbabies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton several times discussed traveling to Fresno to meet the agent and the agent\u2019s fictional 7-year-old niece.<\/p>\n
Githens stated that he \u201cwould love to have a dad or uncle invite me,\u201d and described in graphic detail what he would like to do with the undercover agent and the fictional 7-year-old girl.<\/p>\n
In April 2023, law enforcement served a search warrant at Githens\u2019 home<\/a> and discovered Telegram chats on his electronic devices in which he exchanged and commented on videos of young children being raped. He was arrested and placed into custody at the Fresno County Jail.<\/p>\n Githens faces additional prison sentencing of five to 20 years for the child sexual abuse material charge, and potentially $250,000 for each charge, as well as a lifetime term of supervised release.<\/p>\n \u201cThis verdict stems from overwhelming evidence of a sickening attempt by a privileged defendant to sexually abuse a 7-year-old child,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant in a news release.<\/p>\n This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood<\/a>, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.<\/p>\n