A Eunice man has been sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, after being found guilty of enticement of a minor.
The Western District of Louisiana says that 33-year-old Alton Leonard Lowe pleaded charged with enticement of a minor and pleaded guilty to that charge in May 2021.
According to officials, information presented at the guilty plea hearing in this case showed that Lowe was arrested in May 2020 in Jeff Davis Parish on charges of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile. Lowe met the victim, who was under the age of 18, through the Grindr app in November 2019 and in December 2019, when Lowe was at least 31 years old, he began having sexual relations with the minor victim when he knew the victim was under 18.
Officials say Lowe and the victim accessed Grindr via cell phones and communicated using the app and text messages. Lowe provided the victim with a cell phone and, through text messages, they communicated about the next time they'd see each other.
Lowe pleaded guilty in May and admitted to using a smartphone to persuade, entice, induce, and coerce an individual under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity while having a criminal offense of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff's Office and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel prosecuted the case.
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