Cory Ryan Day Sentenced For Enticement of a Child For Sexual Purposes and Traveling with the Intent to Illicit Sexual Conduct

Knoxville, Tennessee – On March 10, 2020, Cory Ryan Day, 24, currently of Huntsville, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville.

As part of a plea agreement, Cory Ryan Day agreed to plead guilty to an information charging him with one count of enticement of a child for sexual purposes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) and one count of traveling with the intent to illicit sexual conduct in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2423(a).  Day was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release.  Day will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.

In September and October of 2018, in the Eastern District of Tennessee, Day contacted a 15-year-old boy through Snapchat, a social media site.   Day sent the minor a video of a couple having sex.  Day then offered to pay the minor $200 and buy him alcohol if he would allow Day to have sexual contact with him.  The minor refused.

At the end of December of 2018, a young girl began receiving messages on Snapchat from Day, who purported to be a teenage girl and sent naked photos of a teenage girl.  Day subsequently requested naked photos of the young girl.  Day then arranged a meeting with her, offering money and cigarettes in exchange for allowing Day to engage in illicit sexual conduct with her.  Day traveled from Scott County in the Eastern District of Tennessee to the Eastern District of Kentucky to meet the girl.

At the time of the crimes, Day was a teacher and coach with the Scott County Schools.

“This case is unfortunately representative of the calculated misuse of the Internet and social media by sexual predators,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.  “As parents, we need to be ever vigilant in protecting the children entrusted to our care.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute to the full extent of the law those who use social media to entice and prey on children for illicit purposes.”

“Children are among the most vulnerable members of our community.  They must be protected in any way we can.  This investigation is a great example of the work that can be done when state and federal law enforcement agencies work together to remove those intent on harming the safety and well-being of our youth,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico.

The criminal information was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.  This investigation was led by FBI Special Agent Kristina Norris.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.

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

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”