North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Offense Against A Minor

BECKLEY, W.Va. – David William McConnell, 39, of Charlotte, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today to traveling in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from May 15, 2022, until May 30, 2022, McConnell used the Kik messaging app, exchanged text messages and communicated by phone with 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 minor females 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 residence 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 minor children and engage in sexual acts with both of them. On May 30, 2022, McConnell was arrested in Beckley.

McConnell is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, five years up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. 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.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting 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 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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-cr-124.

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