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Canton Sex Offender Jailed 31+ Years for Child Exploitation
A 51-year-old Canton man has been sentenced to 382 months in prison for traveling to South Carolina to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor while being a registered sex offender.
Michael John Worley, 51, of Canton, N.C., was sentenced to 382 months in prison for traveling to Fort Mill, South Carolina, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Worley to remain under court supervision for the rest of his life and to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.
Worley was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in federal court in 2017 and was ordered to a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Despite this, Worley continued to prey on vulnerable children, using social media to contact a 15-year-old minor female in March 2021. He expressed his interest in engaging in illicit sexual acts with the underage female, knowing that she was a minor.
worley then traveled from Haywood County in North Carolina to Fort Mill, South Carolina, for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the minor. When Worley arrived at the residence where he thought he was meeting the minor, he was arrested by the York County Sheriff’s Office. Worley pleaded guilty to attempting to use a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography in March 2023.
“We are committed to actively investigating and prosecuting repeat predators like Worley to combat child exploitation and ensure the safety of our vulnerable young people,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Ensuring the safety of our children is paramount, and I commend Homeland Security Investigations and the York County Sheriff’s Office for their swift action in this case. Thanks to their work, children are protected from this dangerous individual.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
U.S. Attorney King credited Homeland Security Investigations and the York County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation that led to today’s sentence. Kyle Burns, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Kevin Tolson of the York County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
Worley is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. This case serves as a reminder of the dangers of child predators and the importance of vigilant law enforcement efforts to protect our children from those who seek to harm them.
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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