Memphis Man Sentenced to 198 Months in Prison for Interstate Transportation of a Minor for Sex

MEMPHIS, TN—Calvin James Reid, 49, of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced on May 31, 2013, to 198 months in prison following his conviction for taking a minor out of state on two occasions to engage in sex, announced United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III.

On November 15, 2012, Reid was convicted by a federal jury of two counts of transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. According to evidence presented at trial, Reid engaged in an escalating pattern of sexual conduct with a 13-year-old child in late 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 the most precious and vulnerable members of our society. Protecting them from individuals like Reid, who seek to exploit them sexually or otherwise, remains one of this office’s priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “Reid’s sentence of more than 16 years in prison sends a clear message that this kind of reprehensible conduct will not be tolerated. We will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute 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 A. Todd McCall, 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.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla ordered Reid to serve 12 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the FBI Memphis Field Office’s Child Exploitation Task Force, assisted by the Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deb Ireland and Leetra Harris represented the federal government.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.