BERRYVILLE, Ark. — A Berryville man has pleaded guilty to distributing child sex abuse materials and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual acts according to a release from the United States Attorney's Office Western District of Arkansas.
The man is identified as 42-year-old Ricky Gunter Hilburn.
Officials said that in May 2022, the Arkansas FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force received a tip from the FBI Kansas City Division of a person under investigation admitting that he was "trading" child sex abuse materials online with Hillburn. The person also told officials that Hillburn "had even bragged about sexually abusing a minor male," according to the release.
Officials responded to this with a search warrant at Hilburn's home where they found "electronic devices" that confirmed he was trafficking child sex abuse materials online, the release said.
After further investigating, officials also found that Hilburn "had groomed two minor males in Oklahoma" and "would travel across state lines" to have sex with them.
The release states that at the sentencing, evidence showed that Hilburn "had groomed a third minor male" and had sex with him on "multiple occasions."
Hilburn has pleaded guilty and is now sentenced to 41 years in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the release.
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