South Carolina Man Receives 20 Years in Prison for Intent to Engage in Sexual Conduct with a Minor

TOLEDO, Ohio - A South Carolina man was sentenced to prison after he admitted to travelling more than 700 miles from the Augusta area to Toledo to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a purported seven-year-old girl.

Edward Wade Green, 54, of Aiken, South Carolina, was sentenced to 240 months (20 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick, after he pleaded guilty in March 2024 to:

• Coercion or Enticement of a Minor
• Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor
• Transportation of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct
• Possession of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct

He was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $78,000 in restitution to 26 victims.

According to court documents, in April 2023, Green was communicating with an undercover agent, on an online platform, who purported to have a seven-year-old daughter. During these communications, Green expressed sexual interest in the purported daughter. After several online conversations, Green agreed to meet the fictitious seven-year-old at a prearranged location in Toledo, Ohio, for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with her. Upon Green's arrival at the agreed-upon location, he was apprehended by federal agents and taken into custody. During a forensic examination of Green's electronic devices, they were found to contain visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, with at least one image involving a prepubescent minor under the age of 12.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Toledo Resident Agency's Child Exploitation Task Force.

Assistant United States Attorneys Sara Al-Sorghali and Frank H. Spryszak prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.