Registered Sex Offender Admits New Child Sex Crime

ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from northeast Missouri on Wednesday admitted crossing state lines to engage in sex with a minor.

Joshua T. Wilson, 23, of Monroe County, Missouri, pleaded guilty to a charge of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity. As part of his guilty plea, Wilson admitted that he met a 16-year-old girl in the spring of 2022. Wilson and the victim began interacting on an almost-daily basis via online apps. They engaged in sexual conversations and exchanged sexual images. Wilson also met the teen for sex, and took her to Kansas, where he engaged in unlawful sexual activity with her.

Wilson is a registered sex offender.

The charge against Wilson carries a mandatory prison term of 10 years, and is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

The FBI and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.