A Texas man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for traveling to North Carolina to engage in sexual activity and produce child pornography involving a minor. Rusty Joseph Whittaker, 44, of Austin, was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. The sentencing follows his conviction by a federal jury in September 2025 after a four-day trial.
The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, along with FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
“Predators like Rusty Whittaker are a parent’s worst nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “This defendant traveled across state lines to exploit a child, used technology to conceal his crimes, and inflicted long-lasting trauma on a vulnerable victim. A lengthy sentence ensures that Whittaker will never have the opportunity to harm another child.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid stated: “Whittaker intentionally targeted, groomed, and violated a child for his own sexual gratification. While it is difficult to understand how anyone could do something like this, it is the stark reality of the danger lurking online every day. We must talk to our children to prevent them from being victimized by disgusting predators like Whittaker.”
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Whittaker met the minor through Antiland, an anonymous online platform where messages are automatically deleted. He later moved their communication to Snapchat, which also deletes content automatically. Through these platforms and online payment services, Whittaker solicited explicit images from the victim and pressured her into meeting him in person.
On May 20, 2023, while attending a conference in Nashville, Whittaker traveled to Charlotte with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual activity with the minor. Evidence showed he waited until the girl's father was asleep before picking her up from home, taking her to a hotel where he engaged in sexual acts with her, then returning her near her residence.
During sentencing, Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr., commented: “This is a case that is very serious. It involves planning and manipulation of a child. The word needs to go out that we won’t put up with this.”
Whittaker remains held by the U.S. Marshals Service pending transfer to federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from CMPD; Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to combat child exploitation online by coordinating resources at all levels of government for both prosecution and victim rescue efforts.
More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
