BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) – A North Carolina Man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex offenses against a Beckley minor.

David William McConnell, 39, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested and sentenced to prison after sexual offenses against a minor.

According to court information, from May 15, 2022, until May 30, 2022, McConnell used the Kik messaging app to text and call a woman he believed to be a single mother of 11-year-old and 13-year-old daughters in Beckley, West Virginia. During these conversations, McConnell expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the two girls and teaching the woman to engage in sexual acts with her daughters.

McConnell admitted to telling the woman that he planned to travel from his Charlotte home to a Beckley hotel to meet her and the two minor females on May 30, 2022. McConnell further admitted to telling the woman that he planned to shower with each of the girls and engage in sexual acts with both of them. On May 30, 2022, McConnell was arrested in Beckley.

Following the arrest, McConnell was sentenced on February 3, to 10 years in prison with 25 years of supervised release, for traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. McConnell must also register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) West Virginia Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.