A Butte County man on Thursday was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison for trying to arrange a meeting to have sex with a child, which was a ruse as part of a July 2024 Northern California undercover operation.
A federal judge sentenced Kevin Leslie Gipson, 60, of Oroville for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento announced in a news release. He pleaded guilty to the criminal charge last year.
“Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his sickening attempt to sexually exploit a child,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in the news release. “Thanks to law enforcement intervention, no child was actually harmed. But this case underscores the ongoing danger that the defendant poses to our community, especially in light of his prior convictions for sexually abusing young children.”
Gipson was among 14 people arrested in the operation last summer that sought to target child sexual predators. Gipson’s friend, Kenneth Wayne Lorenz, 82, of Rio Linda in Sacramento County, also was among the 14 arrested.
Gipson and Lorenz initially faced local charges stemming from their arrests and were arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court. An October 2024 federal grand jury indictment superseded the local charges.
Yuba County undercover operation
The three-day undercover sting, known as Operation Summer Sentinel, was led by the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office and the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Officers from 20 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies convened in a room in July 2024 to talk on social media apps and websites with the men who believed they were speaking with young girls, sheriff’s officials announced in early August 2024.
Federal prosecutors said Gipson responded to an undercover investigator who had assumed the identity of a man who was interested in finding people to have sex with his 8‑year-old daughter.
Gipson told the undercover investigator that Lorenz might also be interested in having sex with the child, prosecutors said. The undercover investigators later spoke with Lorenz by phone. Prosecutors said Lorenz confirmed he would cancel a poker game so the man could bring his daughter to Lorenz’s home.
Investigators served a search warrant at Lorenz’s home. Prosecutors said the investigators found two thumb drives and a laptop computer that contained child sexual abuse material, including videos involving infants and bestiality.
Lorenz admitted to investigators that he possessed the images on the two thumb drives and that he viewed the material with his friends, including Gipson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Lorenz was convicted of possessing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In January, a federal judge sentenced Lorenz to 14 years in prison.
Rosalio Ahumada
The Sacramento Bee
Rosalio Ahumada writes breaking news stories related to crime and public safety for The Sacramento Bee. He speaks Spanish fluently and has worked as a news reporter in the Central Valley since 2004.
