New Yorker to Serve 10.5 Years in Prison After Luring Minor from Georgia for Sexual Activity, Justice Department Says – WSB-TV Channel 2

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. – A New York man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to persuading a Georgia minor to travel to New York with him.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jordan Harris will spend 10.5 years in federal prison for forcing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Federal officials said Harris tried to convince the Chatham County minor to leave Georgia and go with him to New York.

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According to court documents and witness statements, a Chatham County woman requested help from Garden City police in late December 2021 to help find her missing minor daughter.

Days later, she learned her daughter was in New York and picked her up to return to Georgia, USDOJ said in a news release.

Interviews with the minor victim revealed that Harris had spoken to the minor on online messaging apps for nearly a year before convincing her to leave Georgia with him on a Greyhound bus back to New York.

While driving north with Harris, law enforcement officials said Harris instructed her to remove the SIM card from her phone so she couldn’t be tracked.

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In November 2022, Harris returned to Savannah to meet with the minor. In Georgia, investigators seized Harris’ phone and found evidence of at least seven other underage victims he had also spoken to.

He was then arrested.

“Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting our children from online predators,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the exploitation of our children. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from those who seek to harm our most vulnerable members.”

Now that he has pleaded guilty, he will serve 127 months in federal prison for forcing and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity. When he is released from prison, Harris will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a 15-year supervised release period.

“A nightmare scenario for any parent is the prospect of their child being persuaded to leave the home by a predatory adult,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg. “The community is safer with Jordan Harris behind bars.”

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