Couple pleads guilty to additional sex charges

A Watertown couple who already pleaded guilty to federal charges that they brought children into the state for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity have now pleaded guilty to a state charge that they sexually preyed upon another child.

Christopher I. Jansen, 28, and Amanda D. Jansen, 27, each pleaded guilty Friday in Jefferson County Court to predatory sexual act against a child. Both face sentences of 15 years to life in prison at sentencing March 15, according to a contemplated sentence outlined in court.

Both admitted Friday that they committed repeated sexual acts against a child under the age of 11 between Feb. 1, 2008, and Sept. 18, 2008, at their South Hycliff Drive apartment. According to an indictment handed up in January, the child involved in the state incident was a 1-year-old girl.

The couple pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court, Utica, to one count of conspiracy to transport minors in interstate commerce, with the intent that the minors engage in unlawful sexual activity, as well as two counts of aggravated sexual abuse.

For that conviction, Amanda Jansen faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. Christopher Jansen faces a mandatory life sentence. Federal court sentencing for both is set for Feb. 19. Any sentence imposed in County Court will run concurrently with the federal sentence.