Arkansas man lands in prison after traveling to Phoenix intending to have sex with minor
Jul 19, 2024, 4:15 AM
PHOENIX — An Arkansas man was sentenced to 14 years in prison last week for trying to have sex with a Phoenix minor, authorities announced on Thursday.
A jury found 49-year-old Andrew Lee Butler guilty in March, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Butler was found guilty of attempting to coerce and entice a minor as well as interstate travel for the purpose of having sex with a minor, prosecutors said.
RELATED STORIES
Butler’s crimes took place in December 2022.
How authorities found the Arkansas man who was sentenced to prison
Authorities arrested Butler at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on December 8, 2022.
Butler thought he had been having daily chats with a 13-year-old girl for 38 days. He also quickly raised the idea of having sex and traveling to Phoenix to be with her for a weekend, prosecutors said.
However, Butler was talking to an FBI agent posing as a child over social media.
The FBI agent posing as a minor told Butler her mother was out of town and her grandmother would be her caretaker for the weekend, prosecutors said.
“Butler reserved a hotel room, a car, and planned to pick the girl up after school,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. “Butler encouraged her to talk to her mother about getting the HPV vaccination prior to his arrival as she needed parental approval to get it since she was under age 16.”
Authorities found Butler had done an internet search for statutory rape laws in Arizona. He had eight sex devices, condoms and an emergency contraceptive pill during his arrest, prosecutors said.
