PHOENIX — An Arkansas man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after traveling to Phoenix in 2022 with the intention of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.
Andrew Butler, 49, received his sentence in Arizona after a jury found him guilty of attempted coercion and traveling across state lines to abuse a minor.
Butler was arrested upon arriving at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where investigators discovered he had contraceptives and sex devices in his possession.
Before his arrest, Butler had been messaging someone on Instagram whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. In reality, the person was an undercover FBI agent posing as a minor.
He told law enforcement he believed the individual was 18, but his messages suggested otherwise.
Court records reveal Butler engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the agent and frequently hinted that he could face trouble if anyone discovered their messages.
“Butler’s aggressive and relentless pursuit of who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl is extremely concerning and demonstrates a heightened danger to the public,” prosecutors noted in court filings.
Butler also attempted to persuade the fake 13-year-old to talk to a girl he knew who had previously had sexual encounters with older men without facing consequences.
“Butler intended to use another minor to further peer-pressure and manipulate (the 13-year-old) in an effort to fulfill his fantasy while minimizing his risk of exposure,” prosecutors wrote.
After his detention in Phoenix, investigators examined Butler’s phone and found he had searched for information on Arizona’s statutory rape laws and looked up the address where he thought the 13-year-old’s family lived.
Upon completing his prison sentence, Butler will be subject to supervised release for life.
