N.C. Man Sentenced To More Than 12 Years For Traveling to Virginia to Have Sex with Minor

Press Release

Rayvon Birden Told Victim He Was 16-Years-Old, Will Serve 150 Months

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A North Carolina man, who lied about his age to a 14-year-old-girl he met on Instagram before traveling to Virginia to have sex with her, was sentenced yesterday to 150 months in federal prison.

Rayvon Birden, 29, of Raleigh, North Carolina, pled guilty in March to one count of traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexually illicit conduct.

According to court documents, Birden contacted the 14-year-old victim through Instagram direct messaging and represented himself as a 16-year-old named "Nolan."

Birden and the victim exchanged phone numbers and began communicating via text messages and Facetime regularly. Over the course of their conversations, Birden received nude images of the minor and suggested they meet up and expressed a wish to have sexual intercourse with the minor.

Birden then drove from his home in North Carolina to meet the victim at a hotel near her Virginia home where they had sexual intercourse on multiple occasions, at least one of which Birden filmed.

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations - Harrisonburg, Virginia, in conjunction with the Albemarle County Police Department and the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan E. McKay is prosecuting the case.

Updated August 13, 2024