Saturday, January 20, 2018

Carpenter receives lengthy prison term
Michael Anthony Carpenter, 29, of Sevierville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to serve 222 months in prison for advertising and distributing child pornography and attempted enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Following his release from prison, the U.S. Probation Office will supervise him for the rest of his life. He will also be required to register with the sex offender registry . Carpenter pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from two separate investigations. An undercover law enforcement task force in Australia first identified Carpenter, after he posted links to a chat room devoted to exchanging child pornography so others could download his child porn. During a separate undercover investigation, Carpenter contacted undercover law enforcement officers and expressed interest in paying to have sex with a child. He was arrested in Sevier County, when he arrived at a pre-arranged location to have sex with who he believed was a nine-year-old girl. "Technological advances, particularly the Internet and mobile devices, have facilitated the sex trafficking of children by providing a convenient worldwide marketing channel," said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. "Individuals can now use online classifieds and social media to advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors. This sentence sends a clear message that these crimes against children will continue to be vigorously investigated and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office." The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice, to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.


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