LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Special Agent in Charge Diane Upchurch, of the Little Rock Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and Pulaski County Sheriff Doc Holladay announced today that Larry Wayne Wilder, age 28, of Maumelle, Arkansas, was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for attempted enticement of a minor to engage in a sex act and production of child pornography.
A superseding information charged Wilder with one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of production of child pornography. On Friday, Wilder pleaded guilty to the superseding information, and pursuant to the plea agreement the United States and Wilder agreed to recommend a sentence of 25 years imprisonment. Chief United States District Judge Brian S. Miller sentenced Wilder to 120 months for the attempted enticement of a minor and 180 months for the production of child pornography, to run consecutive for a total of 300 months or 25 years imprisonment, and 20 years of supervised release.
"Today’s case continues to show the dark side of the internet and the ease with which adults can prey on young children," Thyer said. "What is particularly disturbing in this case is the predator acted not just on the internet, but made contact with victims in real life. Thankfully, today’s lengthy prison sentence will put an end to his heinous criminal activity. Unfortunately, there are others like him still out there, and parents must always be vigilant in monitoring their children’s social media usage and should remind their children that they never know who is on the other end of the computer."
The charges in the superseding information were based on an investigation that began in August 2015, when the FBI received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that an adult male was having inappropriate communications with two minors using social media. Members of the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI then conducted an online takeover of one of the minor’s social media accounts. During the course of conversations between Wilder and an undercover officer, Wilder arranged to meet the undercover officer at a local park for the purpose of having sex. Wilder was arrested when he arrived at the park.
During a subsequent interview, Wilder admitted to lying about his age on social media and pretending to be a minor because it was easier to talk with minors the same age. Wilder admitted to meeting boys and girls under the age of 18 years old with the intent to have sex, and he could not recall how many minors he had met for sex. Wilder admitted to paying minors money for sexual acts. Wilder also admitted to having child pornography on his phone, which he gave officers consent to search.
A search of his cellular telephone revealed 140 videos and 2,600 images of child pornography. The search of his cellular telephone also revealed multiple conversations in which he was asking minors to send him sexually explicit pictures. Specifically, Wilder had a conversation with one minor during which he asked the minor to send him photographs of the minor’s genitals. The minor sent the pictures, and Wilder then asked the minor to send additional sexually explicit pictures. When the minor refused the second request, Wilder told the minor that he was going to post the minor’s pictures on the internet.
"Today’s sentence demonstrates the resolve of law enforcement to apprehend dangerous sex offenders who take advantage of our most precious resource, our children," Special Agent in Charge Upchurch said. "Along with our partners at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Attorney’s Office, we will continue to take steps to ensure that individuals such as Wilder pay for their deplorable actions."
The investigation was conducted by the Little Rock Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.