Man Gets 5 Years For Traveling To MN For Sex With Teen

MINNEAPOLIS — A 22-year-old Michigan man was sentenced Monday to 70 months in prison and must pay restitution after traveling to Minnesota to have sex with a child.

Maxwell Winston Beardsley pleaded guilty in July to one count of interstate travel with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy E. Brasel in Minneapolis.

In addition to prison time, Beardsley was ordered to 10 years of supervised release, required to pay $1,667 in restitution to the victim, and also ordered to pay $5,000 to the Domestic Victim Trafficking Fund.

In late 2022, Beardsley met a "young teenager" on Omegle, a free online chat website that does not require user registration, according to authorities.

Although the minor immediately identified as such, Beardsley lied and said he was 16 years old and tried to pursue a romantic relationship with the child, investigators said.

Over several months, Beardsley exchanged sexually explicit materials with the child and engaged in sexually explicit conversations, according to authorities.

On Jan. 27, 2023, Beardsley drove from Michigan to Minnesota for the express purpose of meeting the minor victim to engage in sex, investigators said.