Rusty Joseph Whittaker, Child Exploitation, North Carolina 2023

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Rusty Joseph Whittaker, 44, of Austin, Texas, Found Guilty of Child Exploitation in North Carolina

A federal jury in Charlotte, North Carolina, has returned a guilty verdict against Rusty Joseph Whittaker for traveling to engage in sexual activity with a child, enticing a minor, and producing child pornography.

According to court documents and witness testimony, Whittaker met the minor on an online platform called Antiland, which provides its users with anonymity. He then moved the conversation to Snapchat and used these online messaging platforms to solicit and view sexually explicit images and videos of the victim.

On May 20, 2023, Whittaker traveled from Nashville, Tennessee, to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity with the minor. Trial evidence showed that Whittaker waited for the minor’s father to fall asleep, picked her up from her home, drove her to a hotel, and engaged in sexual activity with the minor.

Whittaker provided the minor with items of value before driving her back home and dropping her off a distance away from her home, leaving her to walk barefoot. The jury found Whittaker guilty of all charges, including enticing a minor and producing child pornography.

Whittaker remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The court will determine his sentence based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson praised the work of the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their investigation and assistance in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes is prosecuting the case.

Federal authorities emphasized the importance of protecting children from exploitation and abuse, and the need for vigilance in identifying and prosecuting individuals who prey on minors online.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.