Ky. man sentenced in sex charge involving Paris teen

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Kentucky man was sentenced to time in prison Friday after pleading guilty to a sex charge involving a 16-year-old girl from Paris, according to a release from the Department of Justice.

 

Billy Ray Wyatt, 54, of Hazel, Ky., was sentenced to 10 years or 120 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of coercion of a minor to engage in sexual activity, according to the release.

 

Beginning in February of 2012, Wyatt used the Internet and social media to meet young females and groom them for sexual encounters, the release states.

 

After meeting one 16-year-old girl from Paris, Wyatt drove to Tennessee and picked her up and took her back to Kentucky with the intent of having a sexual encounter, according to the release. Wyatt is a former Henry County resident, the release also states.

 

The report goes on to say Wyatt also communicated online and made overtures to an agent acting in an undercover capacity as a teenage girl. In a recorded phone conversation, Wyatt talked to her about masturbation and what sexual acts he wanted to perform on her.

 

In addition to the prison sentence, Wyatt  was ordered to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

 

This case was investigated by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force.

 

For information about Internet safety education, visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the resources tab.