Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Transportation of a Muscatine Minor for Illicit Sexual Purposes

DAVENPORT, IA—On July 15, 2011, Justin David Carter, 36, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced in federal court in Davenport for the crime of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey denied Carter’s request for a minimum sentence of 10 years and a imposed sentence of 150 months (12 ½ years) in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release and restitution to the victim of $718.

Carter pleaded guilty to this charge on February 28, 2011. In the written plea agreement, Carter admitted that he traveled from Jacksonville, Florida, to Muscatine, Iowa, to meet a 12-year-old girl. Carter had previously communicated with her through a “chat room” on an online dating site. The girl then traveled with Carter to Florida. On the return trip to Florida, Carter checked into a Motel 6 in Mount Vernon, Illinois, where the two stayed together overnight. Carter provided alcohol to the minor and engaged in sexual contact and intercourse, which was a crime in the State of Illinois because of the minor’s age. The following day, Carter continued with the girl to Florida. On or about June 6, 2010, they arrived in Jacksonville, where FBI agents located Carter and questioned him. Eventually Carter directed agents to a park where they found the girl in a tent, and she was returned to her family in Muscatine, Iowa.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, with assistance from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The case was investigated by the Muscatine, Iowa, Police Department; the Jacksonville, Florida, Sheriff’s Office; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.