Harris County man and ex-Fort Moore contractor sentenced to prison for sex-related crimes
Two men have received their prison sentences for sex-related crimes in a federal court in Columbus, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
The DOJ said Terric Taylor, 28, of Fortson, Georgia, was sentenced Jan. 28 to 97 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Taylor had pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography Oct. 15, 2024, according to the DOJ.
Patrick John Irvine, 22, of Shiloh, Georgia, was sentenced Jan. 28 to 120 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, according to the DOJ. Irvine had pleaded guilty to one count of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, the DOJ said.
U.S. District Judge Clay Land presided over the cases.
Evidence against Patrick John Irvine
The DOJ said court documents and testimony in the Irvine case showed he met a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat sometime in mid-March 2024. Irvine and the girl continued to communicate through Snapchat, FaceTime and text messages over the next several weeks, according to the news release.
The news release said Irvine and the girl met on the night of March 23, 2024. He texted her the following day to “start packing, I’ll get you next weekend,” according to the DOJ.
The DOJ said Irvine returned to the girl’s Alabama residence March 29, 2024, and drove her to Georgia.
The girl’s family reported her missing the next day, according to the release.
Her cellphone records were obtained from AT&T by her mother, who discovered a high frequency of calls between the girl and a number she didn’t recognize, which was Irvine’s phone number, according to the DOJ.
The DOJ said the girl’s mother attempted to call and text Irvine’s number and got a response. They had the following exchange, according to the DOJ:
• Defendant: “Sorry, I’m at work. Is everything okay?”
• Mom: “No I need to talk to you now. I’m [the victim’s] mother. Please answer.”
• Defendant: “[victim’s first name] who?”
• Mom: “Why is a 12-year-old calling the number multiple times late at night if you are old enough to be working? It’s all over my call AT&T call logs.”
• Defendant: “We were going to hang out then I found out how old she was, and I haven’t talked to her since. Is everything okay?”
• Mom: “You need to call me. The police will be calling soon.”
• Defendant: “Sorry I’m at work and I can’t call right now.”
After identifying the number as Irvine, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was notified and dispatched to Irvine’s residence, the release says.
Irvine emerged shirtless from the house and denied the girl was in the house before stating she had just gotten out of the shower, the release says.
The DOJ said the girl escaped out of a window and was found hiding in the woods.
Evidence against Terric Taylor
Court documents and testimony in the Taylor case showed the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip in July 2022 from social media platform X (formerly Twitter) regarding a file of child pornography uploaded to the platform by user “strayBreeders04,” according to the DOJ.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office discovered Taylor was the user and worked at Fort Moore, the release says.
Taylor was located and admitted to agents he uploaded images of child pornography to X, according to the DOJ.
Agents found several files of child sexual abuse material on Taylor’s phone, the DOJ said. Taylor estimated he had approximately 50 videos of children engaging in sexual acts on his device, the release said.
“Both cases demonstrate how law enforcement and community partners are helping us hold child sex offenders accountable,” Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker said in the news release.
“With a victim-centered approach, the FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to hold those who choose to prey on our most vulnerable citizens accountable,” FBI Atlanta Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke said in the news release.
“These cases show how local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to fight for the safety of our children,” Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley said in the news release.
Both cases are part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the DOJ in May 2006 to combat increasing child sexual exploitation and abuse.