Arkansas man sentenced after traveling to NC for sex with 5-year-old girl
An Arkansas man has been sentenced to prison after he traveled to North Carolina to have sex with a 5-year-old, prosecutors say.
Cannon Earl Kress, 50, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for distribution of child pornography.
In October 2022, Kress started a Kik group where members posted child sexual abuse images and videos and talked about their sexual interests in children. Investigators said an undercover detective joined the group and downloaded some of the child sexual abuse videos Kress had uploaded to the group.
The detective and Kress messaged on Kik, which is when Kress said he was interested in “engaging in illicit sexual acts” with a 5-year-old girl. Kress, along with the detective, arranged to meet and have sex with the child.
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On Nov. 2, 2022, Kress arrived in Hickory for that purpose. Law enforcement met him there and arrested him.
Investigators also found child sexual abuse videos on Kress’s phone.
Kress pleaded guilty on Oct. 10, 2023 to distribution of child pornography. He was given the maximum 20-year sentence partly because of his trip to Hickory.
When Kress is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender and will be under supervised release for the rest of his life. He’s also required to pay an $18,000 fine.
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