TAMPA, Fla. – Jonathan Howard Kuykendall, a 39-year-old former U.S. Air Force member stationed at MacDill Air Force Base, has been sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison for trying to lure a minor into sexual activity.
According to court documents and trial evidence, Kuykendall, using the online alias “Bright Darkness,” engaged in sexually suggestive conversations with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl living on the base.
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Despite knowing her age, he continued to groom her over two weeks, gradually introducing explicit sexual content.
On June 24, 2022, Kuykendall agreed to meet the girl at her home, taking precautions to avoid getting caught. However, upon arrival, he discovered that the “girl” was actually an undercover federal agent. He was immediately arrested.
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Kuykendall was found guilty by a federal jury in June 2024 and has now been sentenced to 10 years and 1 month in prison, along with the forfeiture of his cellphone used in the crime.
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