SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) — A Washington man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sexual exploitation of a child and faces up to 30 years in prison after a trip to Cambodia to have sex with underage girls, prosecutors said.

Craig Carr, 59, of Kent, Washington, made contact over the internet with a person in Cambodia who agreed to find minor females for him to have sex with during a visit to Cambodia. He paid this person approximately $8,000 for sex with these minor females during a week-long trip to Cambodia. 

Carr informed the person arranging the sexual encounters that he wanted the girls to be about 12-years-old, sending his Cambodian contact sexually explicit photographs of minors to show the approximate age of the girls he was seeking.

In addition, Carr asked the source in Cambodia if he could take naked photos of the girls, and, he requested the address of a FedEx store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, so he could send the photos to his home in Kent. 

After traveling to Phnom Penh from Seattle on January 13, Carr was arrested on January 22. He admitted that he had sex with three young females over his eight days in Cambodia, and his camera contained pictures of three young victims. Two of the victims have been located. 

“Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message to child predators who falsely believe they can travel to other countries with the intent of sexually exploiting children and avoid detection by U.S. law enforcement,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations. “ICE remains committed to dedicating its investigative resources to deter this type of illegal activity in the future.”

Carr now faces a mandatory minimum 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release when sentenced at the end of October. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the parties will recommend that he be placed on lifetime supervised release following his prison term. 

Carr will also be required to register as a sex offender, as he has agreed to pay restitution to the Cambodian victims.

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