Georgia man sentenced after traveling to WNC to engage in sex act with child
Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual crimes against a child.
ASHEVILLE – A Georgia man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after traveling to Henderson County to engage in illicit sex acts with a minor, according to a June 15 news release from Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Stephen William Wargo, 30, began communicating with a 10-year-old female minor over Discord, an instant messaging social platform, on Sept. 10, 2021, according to the news statement. During this time, Wargo participated in “extensive conversations with the minor victim and at times made inappropriate romantic overtures.”
Upon discovering the communications about three to four days later, the minor’s parents turned over their child’s cell phone to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. A Henderson County detective continued communications with Wargo via the minor’s Discord account, from about Sept. 24, 2021 through Oct. 16, 2021.
During this time period, Wargo's messages became increasingly sexual, including cartoon anime images of adults and children engaged in illicit sex acts and multiple pictures of Wargo's own genitals, according to court documents obtained by the Citizen-Times June 16. Wargo messaged the detective, who was posing as the minor victim, that he could travel from Georgia to North Carolina for a 13-hour visit, during which Wargo stated there would be "plenty of time for sex."
On Oct. 6, 2021, Wargo traveled from Dallas, Georgia, to Henderson County with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a child and was arrested upon arrival at the predetermined meeting location, according to court documents.
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Nearly a year-and-a-half later, Wargo pleaded guilty Feb. 27 to crossing state lines with intent to engage in a sexual act with a person less than 12 years of age.
“There is nothing more precious than our children,” Sheriff Lowell S. Griffin of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in the news release June 15. “I am proud of the extraordinary efforts put forth by the men and women of the Sheriff’s office, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to remove this dangerous criminal from society.”
After his 30-year prison sentence, Wargo will receive a lifetime of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. Additionally, Wargo must pay $13,200 of restitution, as ordered by U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger.
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Alexis Solheim, assistant U.S. attorney, prosecuted the case and Fredilyn Sison, a federal public defender for the Western District of North Carolina, defended Wargo.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, which mobilizes federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, according to the news release.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Georgia man sentenced in Western North Carolina child sex crime case
