Point Pleasant Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Sex Trafficking Offense

Press Release

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Point Pleasant man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Dale Randall McCarthy, Jr., 51, pleaded guilty to the offense in May 2021.

According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, McCarthy admitted that on August 8, 2020, he agreed with a man he met online to pay $100 to have sex with a 14-year-old girl that would be supplied by the other man. McCarthy met with the man at a motel in Dunbar and paid the man $40 up front for sex with the girl, with the remainder to be paid after the sexual activity.  After paying the man $40, McCarthy was placed under arrest. McCarthy further admitted that he had previously used Craigslist to communicate with minors about meeting for sexual activity. In one such conversation, McCarthy admitted to requesting and receiving a sexually explicit image of a person who stated they were a minor.

Upon release from prison, McCarthy will be placed on federal supervised release for a period of 10 years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.


Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald handled the prosecution.


This case was prosecuted 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. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-00160.

 

 

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