A Tiverton, Rhode Island man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for enticing and transporting a minor across state lines for criminal sexual activity. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
William C. Stewart, 22, received his sentence on November 13, 2025, from U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. In addition to the prison term, Stewart will serve five years of supervised release and must pay $5,000 in restitution to the victim and her family. He pleaded guilty on April 1, 2024 to charges including enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Court documents show that Stewart began communicating with a 13-year-old girl via Snapchat on June 17, 2021. He quickly learned her age but continued communication and persuaded her to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Stewart admitted that he picked up the girl outside her Pennsylvania home during the night of June 30, 2021. He then drove her through several states—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut—and stopped at a hotel in New London, Connecticut where he engaged in sexual activity with the minor and provided her drugs before continuing on to Rhode Island.
Upon arriving at his family’s residence in Tiverton on July 4, Stewart introduced the victim using a false name and claimed she was 19 years old. On July 7, the girl contacted a friend via Snapchat asking for help; this led Tiverton Police to identify her location and respond to Stewart’s home.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys G. Michael Seaman and Denise M. Barton. The investigation involved the FBI as well as police departments from Tiverton and Pennsylvania.
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