A federal judge in Atlanta has sentenced a man to life in prison for using the Internet to try and lure a 7-year-old girl to have sex with him.
Russell E. Worsham, 44, of Macon, was caught in an FBI sting in 2008 when he thought he had befriended a woman online and who had told him she had a young daughter. The woman, it turned out, was an undercover agent. Over three months, in online chats, e-mails and telephone calls, Worsham plotted to have sex with the 7-year-old and was ultimately arrested by agents when he showed up to meet her in his van, which had crayons, a studded dog collar and child pornography inside, U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said. At trial, a victim also testified that Worsham had sexually assaulted her when she was between the ages of nine and 12, Yates noted.
"This defendant trolled the Internet searching for child victims," Yates said. "His conduct was more than mere words. A brave victim testified during trial that from the time she was nine until she was twelve, this dangerous predator repeatedly sexually assaulted her."
The case was investigated by agents and officers of the Atlanta Safe Child Task Force, which is led by the FBI's Atlanta division.
Worsham was convicted in September 2010 after a five-day trial. Senior U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester imposed the life term during a sentencing hearing on Thursday.
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