CA professor caught in Fresno FBI sting convicted of child sex exploitation

A former professor in the Stockton area who sought to travel to Fresno to attempt sexual abuse on a fictitious 7-year-old child was found guilty of attempted enticement of a minor and receipt and distribution of sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rodger Githens, 48, of West Sacramento, faces 10 years to life in prison for the attempted enticement charge alone. He is scheduled for sentencing July 20.

According to court documents, Githens used an account on Grindr, which is known as a hookup app and the world’s largest social networking platform for the LGBTQ+ community, to initiate contact with an undercover agent.

Githen encouraged the agent to establish a Telegram account, which he considered more secure, then confessed being into “babies.”

The former professor at University of the Pacific in Stockton several times discussed traveling to Fresno to meet the agent and the agent’s fictional 7-year-old niece.

Githens stated that he “would love to have a dad or uncle invite me,” and described in graphic detail what he would like to do with the undercover agent and the fictional 7-year-old girl.

In April 2023, law enforcement served a search warrant at Githens’ home and discovered Telegram chats on his electronic devices in which he exchanged and commented on videos of young children being raped. He was arrested and placed into custody at the Fresno County Jail.

Githens faces additional prison sentencing of five to 20 years for the child sexual abuse material charge, and potentially $250,000 for each charge, as well as a lifetime term of supervised release.

“This verdict stems from overwhelming evidence of a sickening attempt by a privileged defendant to sexually abuse a 7-year-old child,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant in a news release.

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.

According to data on the National Children’s Alliance website, roughly 1 billion children globally experience sexual violence.

In the United States, one in four girls and one in 13 boys are estimated to experience children sexual abuse.