Oklahoma man convicted of illicit sexual conduct in Kenya

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal jury convicted an Oklahoma man on Friday of illicit sexual conduct with children at a Kenyan orphanage that specializes in caring for neglected children.

Matthew Lane Durham, 20, of Edmond, was found guilty of multiple federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and faces decades in prison at sentencing.

Convictions for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places can draw prison terms of up to 30 years and a $250,000 fine, though under federal sentencing guidelines terms of imprisonment are often much less.

Jones said the statements were coerced by orphanage officials who isolated Durham, took his passport and created the allegations to obtain $17,000 from the U.S. government for security cameras.

The trial, which started on June 10, was held in Oklahoma under a federal law that gives U.S. prosecutors the authority to prosecute American citizens who travel abroad for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with someone under age 16.

Durham was acquitted of a charge that he "traveled in foreign commerce" with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and eight counts of aggravated sexual abuse with children, which an indictment described as traveling out of the country with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor.