Michael Joseph Carr, Enticement of a Minor, Texas 2015

Michael Joseph Carr, a 25-year-old man from Grand Prairie, Texas, was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) in federal prison for enticing a minor, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Carr was arrested in May 2015 on a related federal criminal complaint and has been in federal custody since. He pleaded guilty in December 2015 to one count of enticement of a minor.

The case began on March 24, 2015, when officers with the Grand Prairie Police Department responded to a call regarding a 15-year-old female who was missing from her guardian’s residence. While driving through the neighborhood, officers observed a suspicious vehicle parked at a church on Tamara Lane in Grand Prairie. Two individuals occupied the rear passenger area.

The male occupant, later identified as Carr, opened the door and immediately began apologizing. The other occupant was identified as the missing girl, Jane Doe, who stated she and Carr met on an online social media website. A subsequent search of Jane Doe’s mobile device revealed that she was using the Kik instant messaging application to engage in sexually explicit communications with another Kik user, later identified as Carr.

Carr admitted to using the Internet, Kik, and his cell phone to entice Jane Doe to engage in sexual activity with him. This is a stark reminder of the dangers of online predators and the importance of educating children on online safety.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative, a department initiative launched in May 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Since FY 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed 20,260 Project Safe Childhood cases against 19,111 defendants. These cases include prosecutions of child sex trafficking, sexual abuse of a minor or ward, child pornography offenses, and many more.

The Grand Prairie Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks was in charge of the prosecution. This sentence serves as a reminder of the severity of the crime and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.

Related Federal Cases