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Press Release
PLANO, Texas – An Irving, Texas man has been convicted of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Cody Ryan Turner, 37, was found guilty by a jury on March 10, 2021, following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan.
“I commend our law enforcement partners for their vigilance in ensuring the safety of our children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Those who target child victims are the worst among us. Their actions will not be tolerated. The Eastern District of Texas will continue to find such individuals and bring them to justice.”
According to information presented in court, in August 2019, Turner began messaging an individual he believed to be a young teen on a popular social media application. After receiving no response throughout August 2019, he sent a graphic image to the child in December 2019. Turner then messaged the child again in June 2020. The individual who Turner believed to be a teen responded and identified herself as a child. From June-September 2020, Turner sent a series of sexually explicit messages to this individual.
On September 8, 2020, believing that the child was at home attending school online because of COVID, Turner sent a message asking, "want company"? Evidence introduced at trial showed that Turner drove from Irving to a location in Plano to meet the child, at which time he was arrested by a joint law enforcement team comprised of officials from the FBI and the Plano Police Department.
Turner was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 17, 2020. Under federal statutes, he faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing 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 U.S. Probation Office.
This case is being 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.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Plano Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany Pickett.