Daphne Man Convicted Of Online Enticement

United States Attorney Kenyen R. Brown of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Alan Preston Prine, 59, of Daphne, was convicted today by a federal jury in Mobile for attempting to entice two children for sex via the internet. Following a day of testimony, the jury deliberated for less than hour before returning a guilty verdict this morning. Prine was taken into the custody of the United States Marshals Service after the verdict.

The evidence at trial showed that Prine responded to an online personals advertisement in November of 2012, and, communicating with what he believed to be a 32-year old woman, attempted to arrange sexual encounters with the woman’s young daughters. Prine engaged in three days of conversation via e-mail with the woman, exchanging nearly 200 messages in an attempt to arrange a meeting with the girls. When Prine showed up to meet the children, he was met by state and federal law enforcement officers.

The charge carries a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of up $250,000, and five years to lifetime supervised release. United States District Judge Callie V.S. Granade will sentence Prine on August 20, 2013 at 1:00 p.m.

The Saraland Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation and presented the case for prosecution to the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Sean P. Costello and Maria E. Murphy handled the prosecution of the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.