Gary Lee Hodges, Child Exploitation, West Virginia 2022

West Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Crimes

A Montana man has pleaded guilty to attempting to entice minors into illegal sexual activity in West Virginia. Gary Lee Hodges, 71, of Big Fork, Montana, made the plea in a federal court in Beckley.

According to court documents, Hodges contacted a woman in Beckley on a social networking website in December 2021. He expressed interest in establishing a household with the woman and her two daughters, ages 11 and 13, and engaging in sexual activity with both girls. Hodges sent the children lingerie and other gifts and booked a trip to take them to Washington, D.C.

Hodges planned to meet the woman and the girls in Beckley and had reserved a hotel room. However, he was arrested at the Charleston airport on January 14, 2022.

Hodges faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, as well as five years to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Sex Crimes

Craig T. Anderson, Child Pornography, Kentucky 2018

Jan 3, 2018

Sex Crimes

Richard Senecal, Attempted Inducement to Engage in Illicit Sexual Activity, Rhode Island 2024

May 15, 2024

Sex Crimes

Richard J. Potter, Jr., Child Pornography, New York 2024

Jul 29, 2021

Sex Crimes

Ronald W. Allen Jr., Child Sex Abuse, Louisiana 2016

Aug 18, 2020