Baldwin County Man Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of a 9-year-old Child

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Baldwin County man has been sentenced on a charge of attempted sex trafficking of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank.

U.S. District Court Judge Anna Manasco sentenced William Guy Long, 47, of Bay Minette, Alabama, to 276 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release.  Long was also ordered to pay $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. In October, Long pleaded guilty to the charge.

According to the plea agreement, Long arranged a date with an escort and then offered the escort $500 if she would bring an underage girl to have sex with him. Long said he wanted someone 10-years-old or younger.  The escort told Long that she had a nine-year-old daughter.  Long said that he preferred younger, “like 4 or 5” but he would pay $800 if she would check her nine-year-old out of school that day and bring her to him.  An arrangement was made, but instead of getting the child, the escort contacted law enforcement.  Long’s abhorrent request was corroborated through text messages. ICE agents, along with the Hoover and Pelham Police Departments, conducted surveillance at the hotel.  When Long opened the door to his hotel room expecting to see the child with whom he planned to have sex, he instead was met by law enforcement.  Long admitted that he communicated with an escort for the purpose of soliciting a minor child for an unlawful sex act.  With Long’s consent, agents seized and searched his cell phone.  A review of Long’s messages revealed his correspondence with another individual whom he told, “get me a young one”—“the younger you find the more money I’ll pay FYI.”

ICE investigated the case along with the Pelham Police Department and Hoover Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White prosecuted the case.

Child sex trafficking is a serious issue.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 27,800 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2024.  This signifies more than a 30% increase since 2023. See https://www.missingkids.org/ for further information.

The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 gave the Department of Justice more tools to address human trafficking.  One tool was creating a mandatory $5,000 special assessment that applies to non-indigent defendants for each count of conviction of certain offenses. The revenue generated from this special assessment is used to support programs to provide services to victims of human trafficking and other offenses.