Reno, Nevada - A Northern California resident had his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday following his arrest for attempted child sex trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Jeffrey Lofstead, 63, of Kings Beach, Placer County, California, with one count of attempted sex trafficking of children. He was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge William G. Cobb, who scheduled a jury trial on February 8, 2021.

According to allegations made in the indictment, on or about October 7, 2020, Lofstead attempted to recruit and solicit a child, who had not yet attained 18 years, to engage in a commercial sex act.

If convicted, the statutory maximum penalty is life in prison.

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI; Reno Police Department; Washoe County Sheriff's Office; Nevada Attorney General's Office; Carson City Sheriff's Office; Douglas County Sheriff's Office; Nevada Highway Patrol; Nevada Department of Corrections; University of Nevada, Reno Police Department; and the Sparks Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Walkingshaw is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.