Evidence Tampering Creates More Problems than it Solves for a Florida Couple
By Carol A. Gasser Moore / * Inglés y español |
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Jacksonville, Florida woman who traveled across state lines with her husband to sexually abuse a 14-year-old Tennessee girl and later attempted to have evidence destroyed has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison, authorities said. 
Kasey Lynn Skaggs, 27, was sentenced April 30 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville to 63 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Federal prosecutors said Skaggs and her husband, co-defendant Jeffrey Lee Robertson, repeatedly traveled from Florida into East Tennessee between December 2023 and February 2024 to engage in sexual acts with the underage victim.
Investigators said the couple used text messages and social media to entice the girl and discuss illicit sexual activity before traveling to Tennessee on three separate occasions.
Authorities said the pair later attempted to cover up their actions by instructing the victim to destroy communications and other evidence after they believed law enforcement had become involved.
Skaggs pleaded guilty to interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct and tampering with a victim to destroy evidence.
The case highlights what prosecutors described as calculated decisions by adults who knowingly crossed state lines to prey on a child and then attempted to manipulate the victim into helping conceal the crimes.
“This investigation exposed repeated and deliberate actions involving the exploitation of a minor and subsequent efforts to obstruct the investigation,” federal officials said in announcing the sentence.
Robertson previously was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that included enticement of a minor, interstate travel for illicit sexual conduct and victim tampering.
Authorities said evidence recovered from the victim’s phone included messages detailing sexual acts and communications urging the victim to delete evidence.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Lenoir City Police Department, the Tennessee 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General.
Following her prison sentence, Skaggs will be required to register as a sex offender and comply with special conditions for sex offenders after her release.
