CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Edwin Dorcas, 56, of Huntersville, N.C., was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for enticement of a minor, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Dorcas to serve 30 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and today’s court proceedings, on January 29, 2016, Dorcas befriended a 12-year-old female online and began chatting with her. Over the course of their communication, Dorcas – who knew the victim was 12 years old– suggested they communicate via video chat. Dorcas led the minor to believe that he was a 15-year-old male, and convinced the minor to use her web cam, which allowed him to see her.  Dorcas lied to the minor, telling her that his video cam was not working, and instead sent her pictures of a teenage male claiming it was him. Court records show that during their exchange, Dorcas convinced the minor to expose herself by removing articles of clothing.

On April 7, 2016, agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) executed a search warrant at Dorcas’ residence, and seized electronic devices.  A forensic examination of the devices revealed that, in addition to the 12-year-old victim, Dorcas had chatted with other minors as well.

Dorcas pleaded guilty on February 28, 2019, to enticement of a minor. He will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility.  Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the SBI for their investigation of this case and thanked Homeland Security Investigations for the assistance. 

Assistant United States Attorney Cortney Randall, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.