PITTSBURGH, PA-A former resident of Van Buren, Arkansas, has been sentenced in federal court to a term of imprisonment of 12 years and seven months (151 months) and 27 years of supervised release on his conviction of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Alastair Lee Stewart, 27.
According to information presented to the court, from Nov. 15, 2016 to March 27, 2017, Stewart engaged in internet conversations with a 12 year-old girl over a chatting application called "Live Me," and later communicated with the victim over Skype, Snapchat, and text messages. Stewart then traveled from Arkansas to western Pennsylvania and arranged to meet the victim at her grandfather’s residence, where he sexually assaulted her in a motor home on the property on March 24 and March 25, 2017. Stewart fled the area on March 26, 2017.
Assistant United States Attorneys Christy C. Wiegand and Jessica L. Smolar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Stewart.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
