A McKinney man may spend more than two decades behind bars after admitting to exploiting children for sexual purposes, the Department of Justice says.
The DOJ said Wednesday 21-year-old Stephen Chase Clark pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine A. Nowak on Mar. 4, 2019.
According to prosecutors, in August 2018 Clark chatted on social media with a person he believed to be an underage boy.
"Clark engaged in sexual conversations with the individual and asked for photographs of the child," the DOJ said in a news release. "Clark was arrested on Aug. 28, 2018, after he went to a location in McKinney where he expected to meet the individual he believed to be a child to engage in sexual activities."
Prosecutors said a review of Clark's mobile phone and social media accounts also revealed a number of sexually explicit chats between Clark and other young males as well as a number of instances of child pornography and chats about trading child pornography.
FBI agents are conducting an ongoing investigation to identify children whose images were located on Clark's electronic devices and encourage anyone who had contact with Clark, or who may have additional information about Clark, to contact the U.S. Attorney's Office at 1-800-804-3547.
Clark's plea deal includes a sentence of 250 months (20 years and 10 months) in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set and the actual sentence will be determined by a federal judge at sentencing.
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The DOJ said the case against Clark was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Collin County Sheriff's Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.
