A 33-year-old Alabama man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for traveling to Georgia in an attempt to have sex with two children, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said today.
Joseph Franklin Ellis did not know that he was dealing with an undercover FBI agent, and his 2011 trip ended with a police chase and a car crash.
“Ellis made a decision to prey on innocent and vulnerable children when he traveled to have sex with them,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a news release. “Because he was making the arrangements through an undercover officer, Ellis was stopped and his quest to molest children was ended.”
Ellis, of Attalla, Ala., responded to the undercover officer’s online notice in February 2011 that he had access to two boys, ages 12 and 5, who would be available for sex, prosecutors said. Arrangements were made for a meeting in May of that year at a Hampton Inn in Ringgold, Ga. When Ellis arrived, FBI agents tried to arrest him and he fled, authorities said. A high-speed police chases ended when Ellis’ car crashed.
Ellis was convicted in February after pleading guilty to attempting to have sex with minors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In addition to his prison term, he was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.
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