Morgan County Man Sentenced to Fifteen Years in Prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Woodson, Illinois, man, Corey Meador, 32, of the 400 block of South Sheppard Street was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison, to be followed by fifteen years of supervised release, for attempted enticement of a minor.

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that on or between February 11 and April 8, 2021, Meador used facilities and means of interstate commerce, the internet and a cellular telephone, to knowingly attempt to persuade, induce, and entice an individual who he believed had not attained the age of 18 years to engage in sexual activity. Specifically, the evidence showed Meador agreed to pay money to engage in sexual activity with a person he believed was an eleven-year-old child.

Also at the hearing, U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough found Meador had engaged in extended, disturbing conversations regarding the sexual abuse of an eleven-year-old and payment for sex with both money and candy. After months of conversations and planning, Meador drove to the meeting location to engage in the illicit relationship with the child and was arrested.

The statutory penalties for attempted enticement of a minor are not less than ten years and up to life imprisonment, not more than a $250,000 fine, and up to a life term of supervised release.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, and the Illinois State Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner K. Jacobs represented the government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.