Federal Jury Convicts Texas Man Of Traveling To North Carolina To Engage In Sexual Activity With A Child

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A federal jury in Charlotte returned a guilty verdict late yesterday against a Texas man for traveling to North Carolina to engage in sexual activity with a child, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The jury also found Rusty Joseph Whittaker, 44, of Austin, guilty of enticing a minor and producing child pornography. U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr., presided over the four-day trial.

James C. Barnacle, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today's announcement.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of our children," said U.S. Attorney Ferguson, "and we will do whatever it takes to protect them. Thanks to the exceptional work of the FBI, CMPD, and the federal prosecutors in this office, this predator was identified, found, and brought to justice, and we will continue that effort."

"An adult who takes advantage of a child for sexual gratification is vile, loathsome, and abominable. We must protect our children and warn them of the dangers of communicating online and meeting someone in person. We hope the victim can receive the care needed to recover and highlight the importance of the FBI Victims Assistance Specialist who can help," said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Charlotte Special Agent in Charge.

According to filed court documents, trial evidence, and witness testimony, Whittaker met the minor in an online platform called Antiland, which provides its users anonymity and automatically deletes messages and content shared by its users. Whittaker then moved the conversation to Snapchat, which also automatically deletes messages and content. Using these online messaging platforms, online payment platforms, and other means, Whittaker solicited and viewed sexually explicit images and videos of the victim while continuing to pressure the victim to meet him in person for illicit sexual activity. On May 20, 2023, Whittaker traveled from Nashville, where he was attending a conference, to Charlotte 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 things of value before driving her back home and dropping her off a distance away from her home, leaving her to walk barefoot.

Whittaker remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. Under federal statutes, Whittaker is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. Whittaker's sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

In making today's announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI for their investigation of the case and CMPD for its substantial assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte is prosecuting 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. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.