For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island
Monday, April 1, 2024
PROVIDENCE, RI – A Tiverton man admitted to a federal judge that he enticed a 13-year-old girl he knew to be a minor to travel with him from her home in Pennsylvania to his family’s residence in Rhode Island, during which time he engaged in criminal sexual activity with her, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
William C. Stewart, 22, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Stewart admitted that on June 17, 2021, he began communicating with the minor victim via SnapChat, quickly learning that she was 13 years old. During his ongoing communications, he persuaded the young girl to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Stewart admitted that in the middle of the night on June 30, 2021, he picked the girl up from outside her home and began to drive with her to his home in Tiverton, Rhode Island for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with her. Stewart drove with the girl through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. While enroute to Rhode Island, Stewart stayed at a hotel in New London, Connecticut, where he engaged in sexual activity with the minor victim. According to court documents, after arriving in Rhode Island, Stewart also engaged in sexual activity with the minor female.
According to information presented to the court, upon arrival at his family’s Tiverton residence on July 4, 2021, Stewart introduced the minor victim to his family members, using a false name for her and falsely stating that she was soon to turn 19 years old. On July 7, the young girl contacted a friend via SnapChat and asked for help, after which the Tiverton Police identified the minor victim’s location and responded to Stewart’s home.
Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced on June 18, 2024. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Michael Seaman and Denise M. Barton.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, Tiverton Police Department, and Pennsylvania State Police.