A man from Lawton, Oklahoma was convicted in federal court for attempting to lure an undercover police officer, whom he believed to be a minor, into sexual activity and for persuading a 12-year-old child to send sexually explicit photos of themselves, according to U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
Justin Eli Muncy, 46, of Lawton, pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor; coercion and enticement of a minor; production of child pornography; and two counts of tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion. Muncy was a convicted sex offender when he committed the crimes.
The stipulations in the plea agreement call for Muncy to serve 35 years in prison. A federal judge will determine whether to approve the plea agreement at later sentencing hearing.
According to the agreement, Muncy admitted that from Jan. 27, 2022, to April 14, 2022, he attempted to entice an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity. Instead, he was communicating with an undercover officer.
Additionally, Muncy admitted that he coerced and enticed a 12-year-old child to take sexually explicit pictures of herself and send them to him via social media from Oct. 10, 2021, to April 14, 2022. The images are considered child pornography.
Finally, starting on April 14, 2022, Muncy made multiple attempts to obstruct the investigation and criminal proceedings related to his illicit conduct. For example, when he learned of a pending state arrest warrant, he hid his cell phone in the crawlspace of his home so investigators could not locate it. After his arrest, he wrote multiple handwritten letters from Tulsa County Jail requesting that a witness wipe his cellphone data or plant his phone at another individual’s home to falsely implicate that individual. Muncy also mailed several letters directing the witness to lie during court proceedings regarding his case.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Paisner is prosecuting the case.