A Tennessee man, Terry Dewayne Macon, has been convicted by a federal jury on three counts of transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sex. The conviction follows an investigation and trial that revealed Macon met a 14-year-old Mississippi girl online in July 2024. Over the following month, he traveled from Tennessee to Mississippi three times, picking up the minor and taking her back to Tennessee.
Court records show that Macon admitted to engaging in sexual acts with the minor during these trips. At the time of these incidents, Macon was 27 years old. On August 28, 2024, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Abduction Response Team found the girl with Macon at a residence in Grand Junction, Tennessee. She was returned safely to her home.
The case included testimony from the victim and her mother as well as two FBI Task Force Officers. The jury found Macon guilty on all charges related to transporting a minor for unlawful sexual activity. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Debra M. Brown at a later date.
At the time of these offenses, Macon was already serving federal supervised release for unrelated crimes. Following his conviction, Judge Brown sentenced him to 24 months for violating his release terms; this sentence will run concurrently with whatever sentence he receives for the sex offenses.
U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary of the Northern District of Mississippi and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff announced the verdict after it was delivered by the jury.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FBI Jackson Field Office and Corinth Police Department, with support from other local law enforcement groups in Tennessee.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Addison and Parker King are leading prosecution efforts in this case.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative focused on combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating resources among federal, state, and local agencies aimed at apprehending offenders who exploit children online and rescuing victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
