09/15/2026
Illinois Man Charged with Transporting Minor Across State Lines for Illegal Sexual Activity
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky
Paducah, KY – An indictment was returned by the grand jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on September 10, 2026, charging an Erie, Illinois, man with child exploitation offenses, including transportation of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and online enticement of a minor.
U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and Sheriff Ryan Norman of the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.
According to a previously filed federal criminal complaint, on August 3, 2026, Kenon Bradford, 26, of Erie, Illinois, drove from his residence approximately 7 hours to Paducah, where he picked up a minor victim. Bradford then transported the minor victim back to Illinois with the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity. On August 4, 2026, Bradford and the minor victim were located near Peoria, Illinois. Bradford was taken into custody and acknowledged engaging in sexual communications over Snapchat with the minor victim between July 29, 2026, and the date he picked the victim up.
Bradford is currently in state custody and will make his initial appearance at a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Bradford faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Paducah Resident Agency and the McCracken County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
