HSI Harrisonburg Investigation Lands N.C. Man More Than 12 Years in Prison for Traveling to Virginia to Have Sex With Minor

Conspirator told his minor victim that he was 16 years old

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Harrisonburg field office, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force landed a North Carolina man more than 12 years in federal prison.

Rayvon Birden, 29, of Raleigh, who lied about his age to a 14-year-old girl he met on the internet before traveling to Virginia to have sex with her, received the 150-month prison sentence Aug. 12 at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville.

“Rayvon Birden is a sexual predator who displayed a disturbing level of deception,” said HSI Washington, D.C. Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon. “The fact that he was willing to travel across state lines to support his disturbing proclivities prove that Birden posed a serious threat to any child he could mislead on the internet. HSI Washington, D.C. will continue to work tirelessly with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to rid our communities of such deviant criminals.”

Birden pled guilty in March to one count of traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of engaging in sexually illicit conduct.

According to the investigation, Birden contacted the 14-year-old victim through an internet direct messaging application and represented himself as a 16-year-old named “Nolan.”

Birden and the victim exchanged phone numbers and began communicating via text messages and video chat regularly. Over the course of their conversations, Birden received explicit images of the minor, suggested they meet, and expressed a wish to have sexual intercourse with the minor.

Birden then drove from his home in North Carolina to Virginia to meet the victim at a hotel, where they had sexual intercourse on multiple occasions. Birden filmed at least one of the encounters.

This investigation was conducted by HSI Harrisonburg in conjunction with the Albemarle County Police Department and the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.

Anyone with information regarding sexual crimes against children is encouraged to call the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.

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