Barren County Man Convicted of Transporting Minor Across State Lines for Illegal Sexual Activity and Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence
Jury Deliberated Just Over One Hour Before Returning a Unanimous Verdict
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 13, 2012 |
BOWLING GREEN, KY—A Barren County/Sidney, Ohio man was convicted by a federal jury in Bowling Green, Kentucky, of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.
The jury deliberated just over one hour before finding Tony Glenn Harvey, age 57, guilty on both charges, on Friday, August 10, 2012. Harvey was charged in a two-count federal indictment on September 22, 2011.
According to evidence presented at trial, Harvey transported the child from Sidney, Ohio, to Smiths Grove, Kentucky, in Barren County. In late July 2011, Harvey took the child to a trailer in Smiths Grove, where he forced the child to engage in sexual intercourse and oral sex with him. He also forced her to engage in sexual intercourse and oral sex with another adult male.
On or about August 22, 2011, Harvey again transported the child from Ohio to Barren County, Kentucky. On August 24, 2011, while in Barren County, Kentucky, Harvey encouraged the child to have sex with him, and when the child told him no, he brandished a .22 caliber pistol and told her she deserved to die. Harvey also threatened to hurt himself and other family members.
Harvey faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 17 years in prison. He faces maximum potential penalties of life imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and supervised release of at least five years, but it could be any term of years, including life.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless. The Barren County Sheriff’s Office, in close association with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, conducted the investigation.
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.”