Jonathan Tyrell Haney of Hope Sentenced to Federal Prison for Using Internet to Entice a Minor to Sexual Activity

By Mike McNeill/Magnolia Reporter, 10/24/23 7:22 AM

A Hope man was sentenced last week to 300 months in federal prison, with credit for time served on a related state court conviction, for using the internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Federal Judge Susan O. Hickey announced the sentence.

According to court documents, Jonathan Tyrell Haney, 36, used the online social media service “Badoo” to entice a 12-year-old Ashley County girl to meet him for sexual intercourse. The victim disappeared from her mother’s home in April 2021, reappearing alone the next day at a Columbia County convenience store. Haney’s DNA was later found on the victim’s clothing.

Haney was apprehended near Sulphur Springs, TX, the same day the victim was found, after learning that Arkansas authorities were looking for him.

Upon completing his prison sentence, Haney will be supervised by the United States Probation Office for the next 20 years. He is also required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

Police departments in Crossett and Magnolia, the Hopkins County, TX, Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.