Federal Judge Sentences Tuscaloosa Child Predator to 35 Years

A  federal judge has sentenced a Tuscaloosa child predator to 35 years in prison for reportedly sexually abusing a juvenile while he was on bond in the wake of a human trafficking sting.

As the Thread previously reported, Jalan Christopher Lewis was one of eight men arrested in a July 2024 operation targeting men accused of seeking out underage sex online.

Lewis reportedly messaged an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old on social media, arranged to meet her for sex, and was arrested on arrival "with a condom in his sock," according to U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona.

He was charged with traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act and electronic solicitation of a child, but was released from the Tuscaloosa County Jail on bond. Months later, he allegedly had sex with and produced pornography featuring a 14-year-old victim.

The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force arrested him and charged him with two counts of second-degree rape, traveling to meet a minor for an unlawful sex act, facilitating the travel of a minor for an unlawful sex act, production of child sexual abuse material, and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

Escalona said the federal government is involved as part of Operation Restore Justice, which combines the investigative forces of the FBI with the prosecutorial power of the U.S. Attorney's Office to find, apprehend, and prosecute child predators.

She said Lewis pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, transferring obscene materials to minors, production of child pornography, and receipt and distribution of child pornography late last year.

United States District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced the now-31-year-old Tuscaloosa man to 35 years in prison and stipulated that if and when he is released, it will come with lifetime supervision.

Escalona said the FBI Birmingham Field Office worked the case alongside the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted it through Lewis' guilty plea.

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