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Press Release

Alabama Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Exploitation

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Madison, Alabama, man was sentenced in federal court today for enticing a 16-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, victim into engaging in illegal sexual activity.

James Reece Vance, 46, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Vance to 15 years of supervised release following incarceration. Vance will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

Vance, who pleaded guilty on Oct. 16, 2019, met the child victim through the Game of War application on her cell phone. They also communicated through email and by phone, and met on two separate occasions when Vance drove from Alabama to Kansas City in April 2017. Vance gave her a diamond ring and promised to marry her when she turned 18.

When the child victim’s father discovered the email communication between her and Vance, he reported it to law enforcement.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine A. Connelly. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department. 

Project Safe Childhood
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.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

Updated March 4, 2020

Topic
Project Safe Childhood