Columbia man arrested
The man was arrested in Louisiana.
March 18, 2008
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A Columbia man was arrested near New Orleans on suspicion of using a facility of interstate commerce to entice a minor for unlawful sexual activity, a news release from a Louisiana U.S. Attorney’s office stated.
Federal court documents state Akshaya Swain, 29, used a computer and a cell phone to convince a 15-year-old girl in Kenner, La., to have sexual relations.
Swain is listed as an MU graduate student in physics.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore Jr. remanded Swain to the custody of the U.S. Marshall’s service.
The news release stated that if convicted, Swain faces between 10 years and life in prison followed by up to a lifetime term of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and would have to register as a sex offender.
The news release also stated Swain began online discussions with what he thought was a young girl in Missouri in late February. The girl was actually an undercover Kenner Police Detective.
This week, he came to the area for a convention and attempted to have relations with the girl while he was there.
The Kenner Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations are conducting the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba is handling the prosecution. Klebba is the Project Safe Childhood Coordinator.
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