MEDFORD, Ore. — A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford announced today.
Sage Austin Miller, 28, from Winston Salem, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to court documents, on Sept. 23 and 24, 2024, Miller used Snapchat to communicate with a person he believed was a 16-year-old girl living in Medford, Oregon. During the online communications, Miller attempted to persuade and entice the purported minor to meet him for sexual activity. Miller later traveled to and arrived at a predetermined meeting location.
As part of his plea agreement, Miller admitted that he used a cellular phone connected to the internet to communicate with a person he believed was under the age of 18 and that his conduct constituted a substantial step toward committing the offense. The conduct would have violated Oregon’s Online Sexual Corruption of a Child in the First Degree statute had the planned encounter occurred.
Attempted coercion and enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and five years to life of supervised release.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Miller agreed to forfeit several electronic devices used to facilitate the offense, including two Apple iPhones and an Apple iPad.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith R. Harper of the District of Oregon.
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