Man Pleads Guilty to Coercing Female Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity

Memphis, TN – A Memphis area man has pleaded to using the internet to coerce an underage teen into engaging in sexual intercourse. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the guilty plea today.

According to information presented in court, Matthew Marr, 23, used messaging apps to communicate with a 14-year-old female minor in July and August of 2016. The minor revealed that she was underage during one of their initial conversations. However, Marr assured the minor that her age was not an issue.Marr eventually met the minor in person to have sexual intercourse and, on at least one occasion, was armed with a knife. Additionally, Marr sent sexually explicit images to the minor. He also told the victim she had to send him sexually explicit videos and images of herself if she wanted to be in a relationship with him, and pressured her to introduce him to even younger girls.

On Thursday, January 26, 2017, Marr pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. to one count of coercing and enticing a female minor to engage in sexual activity.

Marr is scheduled to be sentenced on April 27, 2017.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

This case is being investigated by the FBI's Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force and the BPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Deb Ireland is prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.

Anyone who believes they may have information about related activities is asked to contact the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force at 901.747.4300.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."