Registered Sex Offender Is Sentenced To 31+ Years In Prison For Traveling To South Carolina To Engage In Sexual In Sexual Activity With A Minor

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Today, Michael John Worley, 51, of Canton, N.C., was sentenced to 382 months in prison for traveling to Fort Mill, South Carolina, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor while being a registered sex offender, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger also ordered Worley to remain under court supervision for the rest of his life and to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

Kyle Burns, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Kevin Tolson of the York County Sheriff's Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to court documents and court proceedings, in 2017, Worley was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court in the Western District of North Carolina. As part of Worley's judgement, he was ordered to a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Court documents show that in March 2021, the York County Sheriff's Office began an undercover operation to identify online child predators using social media and other messaging applications to contact minors. On March 12, 2021, Worley began communicating online with undercover sheriff deputies posing as a 15-year-old minor female. During their communications, Worley expressed his interest in engaging in illicit sexual acts with the underage female, knowing that the female he thought he was communicating with was a minor. Worley also referenced his prior federal conviction and said that he was not supposed to be talking to a minor, that he had been in trouble in the past, and that he did not want to get in trouble again. On March 27, 2021, Worley traveled from Haywood County in North Carolina to Fort Mill, for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with the minor. When Worley arrived at the residence in Fort Mill where he thought he was meeting the minor, he was arrested by the York County Sheriff's Office.

"We are committed to actively investigating and prosecuting repeat predators like Worley to combat child exploitation and ensure the safety of our vulnerable young people," said U.S. Attorney King. "Ensuring the safety of our children is paramount, and I commend Homeland Security Investigations and the York County Sheriff's Office for their swift action in this case. Thanks to their work, children are protected from this dangerous individual."

"We all can breathe a little easier knowing that a predator like Worley, who delights in the abuse and exploitation of children, is not roaming around our communities looking to victimize our children," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Burns Kyle Burns. "I am thankful for the great work done on this case and the amazing support of our law enforcement partners."

"Let this send a strong message to any child predator, if you hunt our children, you will become the hunted," said Sheriff Tolson.

On March 3, 2023, Worley pleaded guilty to attempting to use a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. Worley is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

U.S. Attorney King credited HSI and the York County Sheriff's Office with the investigation that led to today's sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Solheim of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.

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 the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.projectsafechildhood.gov.