An Eldon man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for traveling to North Carolina on five occasions to engage in illicit sexual activity with a child victim over a two-year period.
James Anthony Guthrie, III, 37, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole.
Guthrie pleaded guilty Nov. 27, 2018, to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, according to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Guthrie admitted he traveled to North Carolina on five occasions for work and, while there, met the then-15-year-old child victim at various hotels for sex. Guthrie admitted he picked up the child victim from school or at her house; once, the victim's father brought her to the hotel.
Guthrie met the victim online when she was 14 years old, according to court documents. Guthrie engaged in sexual communications with her and groomed her by sending gifts, including jewelry, a cellphone, food delivery, a life-size teddy bear, shopping trips and nights in a hotel room. Guthrie manipulated the victim and exploited the fact that others had abused her.
Guthrie also admitted he had communicated about sexual matters with the victim and received pornographic images and videos from her. Investigators examined Guthrie's laptop, hard drive and DVD-R disks, which contained images of child pornography. Guthrie admitted to communicating with other individuals he believed to be minors in a sexual manner and to receiving self-produced pornographic images from 13- to 14-year-old children.