Unnamed Teen Girl - 15 yo (2007) Bartow FL

BARTOW | A federal judge in Alabama has sentenced a 49-year-old
Jacksonville man to 30 years in prison for taking a Bartow teenager
across state lines to have sex.





William Joe Mitchell, a
convicted sex offender, met the 15-year-old girl online and traveled
near her home Oct. 1, 2007, to pick her up, according to court records.
The girl's parents reported her missing to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies analyzed the girl's cellular phone and found that in the days leading
up to her disappearance, she had been communicating frequently with
Mitchell, records state.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert, and she was found the next day at a Walmart in Defuniak Springs.
The girl told investigators that Mitchell claimed to be 23 years old while
chatting with her online, but she realized he was much older when she
met him, according to court records.
She told investigators that Mitchell threatened her, and she got into his car.
Mitchell drove the girl to a motel in Andalusia, Ala., to have sex with her and
then abandoned her at the Walmart, records state.
He was arrested Oct. 6, 2007, at a truck stop in Virginia.
Initially, Mitchell was transported to Polk County to face state charges. However,
his case was eventually picked up by federal prosecutors.
A federal grand jury indicted Mitchell on Oct. 1, 2008, and he was transported to Alabama.
He pleaded guilty Feb. 5 to one count of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
Mitchell's criminal history includes a previous conviction in Florida for lewd or
lascivious battery of a victim between 12 and 15 years of age.
A sentencing memorandum states Mitchell's prior conviction made him
potentially eligible for a mandatory life sentence. But prosecutors
were unable to rebut Mitchell's claim that the sex was consensual.
U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins imposed the 30-year-prison sentence requested in a plea agreement.