Former TSA worker from Arkansas pleads guilty in child porn case

Jacksonville man faces 20-year sentence

Raymond Kinney
Raymond Kinney

A Jacksonville man who was arrested last year when he went to a motel to meet a 10-year-old girl pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge in return for an expected 20-year sentence.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

"This defendant planned to sexually abuse a 10-year-old little girl," U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer said about Raymond Kinney, 54, who worked as an inspector for the Transportation Security Administration before his January 2015 arrest by Homeland Security agents, who were assisted by Russellville police.

Thyer said that fortunately the "girl" Kinney went to meet was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. He said a search conducted after Kinney's arrest revealed that he had taken sex toys and children's clothing with him to the motel, where he had arranged to meet the "girl" through online chats.

The investigation began when undercover officers monitoring a social networking site came across someone who was looking for a child for sexual contact, Thyer and Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations, said in a news release.

They said that under the user name "luvsyngteengirls," the person, later identified as Kinney, sent several pictures and videos of child pornography over the Internet. Agents later arranged the motel meeting with Kinney using that user name.

Kinney pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to a single count of distribution of child pornography in the Little Rock courtroom of U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, who will sentence him at a later date.

The plea agreement calls for a 20-year sentence, the maximum allowed by law, in exchange for the government agreeing not to charge Kinney with additional criminal conduct, including enticement of a minor, that Thyer said was uncovered in the investigation.

"There is no higher priority in my office than protecting the children of Arkansas, and, as I have said many times, parents must be aware of the potential for danger online and monitor their children's internet activity just as closely as they would monitor them in any other public place," Thyer said in the news release issued Tuesday afternoon.

Parmer added that the guilty plea "sends a clear-cut message to those who want to take advantage of our children. We will find you and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Metro on 05/25/2016

Upcoming Events