Mississippi Man Sentenced to 8.5 Years For Traveling to Wisconsin to Assault 12 Year Old Child

MADISON, WIS. - Timothy M. O'Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Reginal Wright, 38, Indianola, Mississippi, was sentenced November 22, 2024, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 102 months in prison for traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The term of imprisonment will be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. Wright pleaded guilty to this charge on August 20, 2024.

On November 7, 2023, Wright traveled to Madison and picked up a 12-year-old girl from her foster home. Wright sexually assaulted the girl while in Wisconsin and then later in Tennessee and Florida. Law enforcement was later able to track the girl's location and eventually recovered her from a Greyhound Bus traveling from Florida to Atlanta.

At sentencing, Judge Conley found that Wright took advantage of a child for his own sexual gratification. Judge Conley also noted the "gaping age difference" between Wright and the child, who Judge Conley described as vulnerable and clearly childlike. Judge Conley said that Wright made a "sordid decision" and caused the child trauma that she may not fully understand until later.

The charge against Wright was the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Highway Patrol, Wisconsin State Patrol, Medley Florida Police Department, Fort Pierce Florida Police Department, Cocoa Florida Police Department, Lake City Florida Police Department, and the Columbia County Florida Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman prosecuted this case.

This investigation was a part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.