Jury Finds Memphis Man Guilty of Interstate Transportation of a Minor for Sexual Activity

MEMPHIS, TN—Calvin James Reid, 49, of Memphis, Tennessee, was convicted today by a federal jury of two counts of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III.

Reid engaged in an escalating pattern of sexual conduct with a 13-year-old child in November 2011. On two occasions, Reid took the child out of state with the intent to engage in sexual intercourse. On November 12, 2011, Reid took the child from Memphis to a hotel in Horn Lake, Mississippi, where he had sexual intercourse with her. In early December 2011, Reid again took the child, this time traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada, and engaged in sexual activity with the child during the trip.

The child managed to separate herself from Reid while in Las Vegas and called her family in Memphis. Reid remained at large until June 2012, when he returned to Memphis and the FBI was notified of his whereabouts.

“Children are our most precious and vulnerable resource and protecting them from individuals like Mr. Reid who seek to exploit them sexually remains one of this office’s priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “Today, the jury sent a clear message that this kind of reprehensible conduct will not be tolerated. We will continue to actively pursue anyone who would destroy a child’s innocence by violating federal child exploitation laws.”

“The FBI has made it a priority to target and investigate those who violate federal law while preying on minors,” said Aaron T. Ford, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “FBI Memphis is proud of the role that it played in bringing this man to justice and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove from our streets those whose criminal acts result in the stolen innocence of our children.”

Reid is scheduled to be sentenced on February 28, 2013, at 2 p.m. by Chief U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla. He could receive 120 months to life in prison and up to a $250,000 fine on each count. This case was investigated by the FBI Memphis Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force, assisted by Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deb Ireland and Leetra Harris represented the federal government.