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Michael Vance Culpepper, 56, of Walkersville, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after being busted by an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl online, and then doubling down after being released by a judge.
He had faced life in prison.
According to his guilty plea, in April and May 2023, Culpepper used cellphones and online applications to "persuade, induce, entice and coerce two victims whom he believed to be 13- and 14-year-old to engage in sexual activity."
The probe into Culpepper was launched in April 2023, when the state police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was conducting an undercover online investigation on a social networking site.
Prosecutors say that Culpepper actively exchanged sexually explicit messages and request sexually explicit images from the undercover officer posing as the teen.
He further encouraged the "victim" to hide the conversations from "her" parents, writing "you DEFINITELY need to delete these texts when we are done.”
Culpepper scheduled a plan to drive 50 miles to meet up with the purported teen at a restaurant in Hanover on May 8, 2023, where he was met by officers, not his underage victim, and arrested.
He was released by a judge the following day on the condition he not have any contact with minors; however, Culpepper also ran afoul of that order.
According to court documents, Culpepper initiated a conversation with a 14-year-old girl online, enticing her into sexually explicit conversations after sending illicit photos of himself in an effort to get the teen to produce nude photos of herself for him.
He later arranged a meet with the second girl with the intention of engaging in sexual activity.
Less than three weeks after his release, prosecutors say that Culpepper picked up the second girl near her home, drove around for approximately an hour before stopping at a park.
"Culpepper used ice cream, money, a hotel room and vaping devices to entice the teen to engage in sexual contact."
The girl refused, but Culpepper reportedly continued to contact her with the intention of engaging in sexual acts.
Following his prison term, a judge also ordered that Culpepper serve 25 years of supervised release, and he must register as a sex offender anywhere he lives, works, or studies.
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