SPRINGFIELD – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Tulsa, Okla., man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for transporting a minor across state lines to engage in illegal sexual activity.
Christopher Virden, 26, of Tulsa, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to 20 years of federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Virden to pay $8,559 in restitution immediately, and up to $10,000 for future counseling for his victim. Following incarceration, Virden will be under supervised release for 20 years.
Virden pleaded guilty to a federal indictment on March 4, 2011. Virden picked up a 14-year-old McDonald County, Mo., girl after school on Nov. 5, 2010, and transported her to his apartment in Tulsa, where they engaged in sexual intercourse.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations, the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force, the Broken Arrow, Okla., Police Department and the Tulsa, Okla., Police Department.
