Former Barry County man sentenced to 17 years for sex with minor
December 12, 2018
Charlea Estes-Jones
A former Barry County man was sentenced to 17 years incarceration for travelling to Tennessee for illicit sex with a minor, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Western District of Missouri on Monday. Michael Peterson, 35, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced on Friday, Dec. 7, by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark.
Peterson had pled guilty to the crime on April 25, 2018, after being indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015.
According to original affidavits of probable cause by Task Force Officer Tim Williams with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, Peterson, who was 32 at the time, and the 15 year-old victim had sexual intercourse in March 2014 in Cassville, and the investigation was initiated by the Cassville Police Department.
According to Williams, Peterson and the victim exchanged multiple photographs via SnapChat on their cell phones as well as illicit conversations. A warrant was initially issued through Barry County for statutory rape in the second degree, but officers were unable to locate Peterson to serve it.
Officers eventually located Peterson in Morristown, Tenn., where he was living with the victim, who was pregnant with Peterson’s child, and her biological mother. Peterson stated in an interview that he had been living with the victim since June 2014. The victim’s mother was aware of the sexual nature of their relationship and allowed Peterson to live with her daughter, according to the court papers.
The victim was taken into protective custody of the state of Tennessee and placed in foster care pending an investigation, according to the affidavit.
In the press release from earlier this week, it confirms the initial statements by officers that he lived with the child victim and her mother and helped pay for rent and groceries. The child of Peterson and the victim was born on February 26, 2015.
The case against Peterson was prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.
Charlea Estes-Jones
A former Barry County man was sentenced to 17 years incarceration for travelling to Tennessee for illicit sex with a minor, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Western District of Missouri on Monday. Michael Peterson, 35, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced on Friday, Dec. 7, by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark.
Peterson had pled guilty to the crime on April 25, 2018, after being indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2015.
According to original affidavits of probable cause by Task Force Officer Tim Williams with the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, Peterson, who was 32 at the time, and the 15 year-old victim had sexual intercourse in March 2014 in Cassville, and the investigation was initiated by the Cassville Police Department.
According to Williams, Peterson and the victim exchanged multiple photographs via SnapChat on their cell phones as well as illicit conversations. A warrant was initially issued through Barry County for statutory rape in the second degree, but officers were unable to locate Peterson to serve it.
Officers eventually located Peterson in Morristown, Tenn., where he was living with the victim, who was pregnant with Peterson’s child, and her biological mother. Peterson stated in an interview that he had been living with the victim since June 2014. The victim’s mother was aware of the sexual nature of their relationship and allowed Peterson to live with her daughter, according to the court papers.
The victim was taken into protective custody of the state of Tennessee and placed in foster care pending an investigation, according to the affidavit.
In the press release from earlier this week, it confirms the initial statements by officers that he lived with the child victim and her mother and helped pay for rent and groceries. The child of Peterson and the victim was born on February 26, 2015.
The case against Peterson was prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the FBI.