Man who crossed border to have sex with teen in Vancouver gets 10 years in jail
The Associated Press
Published: Thursday, October 26, 2006

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A man who told Canadian border agents he was visiting Canada to have sex with a 15-year-old girl he met over the Internet has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Michael Simonson, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of intent to engage in illicit sexual activity and one count of attempted enticement of a minor.
Simonson was arrested after being turned back by Canadian Customs officials at the Blaine port of entry April 15, 2005.

A passenger on a Greyhound bus, Simonson said he was on his way to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex.
Police later found the girl, a runaway, was waiting for him at the Greyhound bus station in Vancouver.
The girl told the RCMP she was there to meet a man named Michael Simonson and have sex with him as they had discussed online, in text messages and by mail.

When he was arrested, Simonson was carrying condoms and Viagra tablets, a digital camera, love letters from the girl and a bottle of vodka, federal prosecutors alleged.

© The Vancouver Province 2006