Greenbrier County Man Sentenced to More than 11 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of a Minor

BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced today that Michael Darnell Ramsey, 47, of Rainelle, was sentenced to 135 months in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Upon release from prison, Ramsey will serve a term of 25 years of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender.

“As a result of the hard work and dedication of my team and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, Ramsey is being held to account for his heinous crime,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart.  “We are working diligently to protect West Virginia children from child sex offenders like Ramsey.”

Ramsey previously pled guilty and admitted that he was communicating via Snapchat with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old minor that he had previously met in person. During these conversations, Ramsey offered to pay the 14-year-old $200 to engage in two sexual acts. On April 3, 2020, Ramsey traveled to a meeting location in Greenbrier County to meet the minor to engage in the commercial sex acts, at which time he was placed under arrest. 

The West Virginia State Police, the Greenbrier County Sheriff’s Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s West Virginia Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation.   United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald handled the prosecution.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:20-cr-0070.

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