Tennessee Man Sentenced to 300 Months for Crossing State Line to Engage in Sex with a Minor

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Billie Gene Spears, 47, of Jacksboro, Tennessee, was sentenced today to 300 months (25 Years) in federal prison, by United States District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, for crossing a state line with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a person who was under 12 years of age.

Late last year, Spears admitted that, in October of 2017, he traveled from Tennessee to Franklin County, Kentucky, with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor who was less than 12 years old.  Spears had posted an internet ad, to which an undercover investigator with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office responded.  During the ensuing communications between the investigator and Spears, Spears unequivocally indicated that he was intending to have sex with the investigator’s fictitious 9 year-old daughter.  On October 21, 2017, Spears was met by the investigator and other law enforcement officers, at a pre-arranged location in Franklin County, where he was arrested.          

Under federal law, Spears must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for 20 years.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Richard F. Ferretti, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; and Andy Beshear, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly made the announcement.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and the Cyber Crimes Branch of the Kentucky Office of Attorney General.  The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney David A. Marye.