Man Sentenced for Attempting to Entice 14-Year-Old Boy to Engage in Sex

Man Sentenced for Attempting to Entice 14-Year-Old Boy to Engage in Sex

A man has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison after admitting to attempting to entice a minor boy to engage in illicit sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman on Monday.

Dylan Harris, 27, of West Warwick pled guilty on June 28, 2019, to attempted inducement of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Following his prison sentence, Harris will serve a lifetime of supervised release.

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The Case

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Harris admitted that in January of 2017, he engaged in a series of sexually explicit online communications with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old boy.

At Harris’ request, he arranged to meet the boy in a secluded Warwick park and to engage in sexual intercourse.

The person Harris thought to be a 14-year-old boy was, in fact, a member of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

On January 5, 2017, at Harris’ request, Harris and the supposed 14-year-old agreed to meet that afternoon. As Harris arrived at the pre-arranged location, police activated their cruiser lights and sirens in an attempt to initiate a motor vehicle stop.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Harris took off and took several evasive actions while driving in the park in an attempt to avoid being stopped. At one point, while traveling at a high rate of speed, Harris turned his car in the direction of a police detective, narrowly missing him and causing the detective to leap out of the way.

Harris eventually lost control of his vehicle and came to a stop when he rolled onto a grass embankment.