A federal judge reportedly sentenced an Arkansas man to 18 years in prison for traveling with the intent of having sex with a minor, a March 14 news release said.
According to the release, Jerrell West, 32, of Forrest City, met the victim through an app that allows users to send messages and have video chat conversations. The conversations were reported to be normal at first and escalated until West asked the victim to move in with him. He reportedly drove to the St. Louis area and picked her up, traveled about 60 miles to a rest stop and sexually assaulted her, the news release said.
“A child who is sexually abused will be forced to deal with that trauma for life," Akil Davis, acting special agent-in-charge of the St. Louis FBI Division, said. "We hope today's 18-year sentence will empower the victim to see that 100 percent of the blame sits squarely on child predator Jerrell West.”
West was arrested in May 2020 and detained pending trial, according to the release. A jury found West guilty last August.
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, created in 2006 by the Justice Department to protect children from exploitation and abuse, the department said.
"Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims," the news release said.
