FRANKFORT, KY (July 28, 2023) — The Kentucky State Police (KSP) Electronic Crime Branch located and arrested Michael Ray Landsness, 35, on charges related to a child sexual abuse material investigation.
Landsness was located, interviewed, and arrested as the result of an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) investigation. The KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after discovering the suspect soliciting sexually explicit images of minors online. He was located in Franklin County after traveling through Kentucky to Missouri, with the intentions of meeting an underage child.
The investigation resulted in an interview with Landsness on July 28, 2023. Equipment used to facilitate the crime was seized and taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination. The investigation is still ongoing.
Landsness is currently charged with one count of promoting a minor under the age of 16 in a sexual performance (Class-B felony punishable by 10-20 years in prison) and one count of procuring or promoting the use of minor over the age of 12 in a sexual performance while being from another state (Class-C felony punishable by 5-10 years in prison.) Landsness was lodged in the Franklin County Detention Center.
The Kentucky Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force is comprised of more than twenty-six local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The mission of the ICAC Task Force, created by the United States Department of Justice and administered by the Kentucky State Police, is to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in developing a response to cyber enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations. This support encompasses forensic and investigative components, training and technical assistance, victim services, prevention and community education. The ICAC program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child sexual abuse material, and the heightened online activity of predators searching for unsupervised contact with underage victims.
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