U.S. Department
of Justice
Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Interstate Travel for the Purpose of Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct with Fourteen-Year-Old Female
According to court documents, ALFORD was an adult male living in Clinton, Mississippi. On about July 26, 2023, ALFORD contacted an undercover law enforcement officer purporting to be an adult female with a fourteen-year-old daughter (FA1) on a social network and messaging application designed for individuals interested in various “kink,” “fetish,” and alternative sexual practices. ALFORD asked what “kinks” FA1 had. Over the next several days, in his correspondence with FA1, ALFORD expressed the desire and intent to engage in various forms of sexual contact with FA1 and her fourteen-year-old daughter, both individually and collectively, on multiple occasions. ALFORD reinforced his intent to FA1 by providing graphic descriptions of the sexual acts he desired. ALFORD also frequently discussed and planned face-to-face meetings with FA1 and her daughter for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with each of them. This included suggesting that they travel to his residence. Separately, ALFORD directly communicated, via an instant messaging application, with the person he believed to be FA1’s minor daughter. During that conversation, ALFORD again described sexual acts he intended to perform on and with FA1 and the child, individually and collectively.
On August 2, 2023, ALFORD told FA1’s minor daughter that he was travelling to Hammond, Louisiana that evening for the purpose of first engaging in sex acts with FA1 and then engaging in sex acts with both FA1 and her daughter. That evening, ALFORD drove his automobile from Flowood, Mississippi to Hammond, in furtherance of his intent to engage in sexual acts with FA1 and her minor daughter.
ALFORD faces a maximum term of imprisonment of thirty (30) years followed by between five (5) years and a lifetime of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. ALFORD may also be required to register as a sex offender. Sentencing before Judge Ashe has been scheduled for March 28, 2024.
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 United States 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security- Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, is in charge of the prosecution.
Shane Jones
Community Outreach Coordinator
U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Louisiana