Ridgeland man sentenced in sex crime

Ridgeland man sentenced in sex crime

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RIDGELAND — A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for attempted enticement and coercion of a minor after attempting to connect online and have sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy last year.

Steven Daniel Tutor was sentenced last week in connection with the July 2019 incident at the Extended Studio Hotel at the east end of Fortification Street in Jackson.

The sentence was handed down last Thursday by U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee and Tutor must also register as a sex offender per the order.

Tutor attempted to entice an individual he believed to be a 14-year old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him. He would later find out he was talking to an undercover officer.

U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi announced Tutor’s sentence Jan. 14 in a joint press release.

The case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Field Office's Child Exploitation Task Force and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office also assisted with the investigation.

Tutor made plans to drive to the Extended Studio Hotel to pick up the minor and take him to an isolated parking area to engage in sexual activities.  

The FBI arrested Tutor at the hotel in his vehicle as described in the online chats.   

Tutor was indicted on May 27 of last year and he pleaded guilty before Judge Lee the following Oct. 8. 

Assistant United States Attorney Glenda R. Haynes prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat 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, 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. 






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