Maui Man Receives Ten and a Half Years in Prison for Child Enticement and Drug Trafficking

News Release from U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii, October 12, 2023

HONOLULU – On October 10, 2023, United States Chief District Judge Derrick K. Watson sentenced Lyle Cummings, 47, of Maui, to ten and a half years of imprisonment and seven years of supervised release for attempted coercion and enticement of a child to engage in sexual activity, as well as trafficking cocaine and crack. Cummings was tried before a jury in June 2023, and found guilty on all counts.

At trial, the United States presented evidence that in March 2020, Cummings communicated online for days with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. During the online conversation, Cummings attempted to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the minor to engage in sexual activity with him. The defendant then drove his truck to meet her at an agreed-upon location in Kihei, Maui. In reality, the defendant had been communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer, and not a 13-year-old minor. When the defendant arrived at the meet-up location, law enforcement arrested him. The next day, law enforcement executed a search warrant on the truck and found, among other items, cocaine and crack packaged for sale.

“This trial revealed how predators like Cummings utilize social media to entice and exploit children, which is appropriately punishable by a mandatory sentence of ten years incarceration,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. “The fact Cummings possessed both cocaine and crack when he showed up to engage in sexual activity with a 13-year-old demonstrates the myriad dangers child victims face in these horrific situations.”

“HSI special agents won’t ever relent when it comes to protecting children and arresting individuals who prey on our most vulnerable,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Honolulu Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “Child exploitation is one of the most serious crimes HSI investigates due to the lasting psychological and physical damage it can inflict on victims. We are proud to work closely with our law enforcement partners to make communities safer.”

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. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department’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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that resulted in the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Olson and Rebecca A. Perlmutter are prosecuting the case.

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HNN 2021: Maui man faces state, federal charges after allegedly trying to meet 13-year-old for sex