MEDFORD, Ore.—An Eastern Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison today for attempting to meet a purported 15-year-old child he met online who was in reality a law enforcement officer investigating online child exploitation.
Reuben Phillip Harvey, 28, of Seneca, Oregon, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in March 2023, Harvey used an online messaging application to communicate with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old girl as part of a broader investigation into online child exploitation. Harvey expressed his interest in young girls to the undercover officer and discussed logistics for a possible meetup. During these conversations, Harvey also communicated to the officer his fear of getting caught, going to prison, and becoming a sex offender for engaging in an intimate relationship with a child.
On March 14, 2023, Harvey traveled to meet the child and parked his vehicle a few blocks from where he believed she lived. Shortly after, Harvey was arrested without incident. A subsequent search of his phone revealed dozens of internet searches for child sexual abuse material and searches related to his meet-up with the purported child.
On August 3, 2023, a federal grand jury in Medford returned an indictment charging Harvey with attempted coercion and enticement of a child and, on June 10, 2024, he pleaded guilty to the single charge.
This case was investigated by the Southern Oregon Child Exploitation Team (SOCET). It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell and Judith R. Harper, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May
2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation
and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.justice.gov/psc.
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