KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A Tennessee man who is a registered sex offender will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of having sex with a minor and taking her across the country.
On May 11, 2023, Everett Eugene Miller, Jr., 56, given a life sentence plus 120 months by Judge Katherine A. Crytzer. He will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.
On April 13, 2022, Miller was convicted by a federal jury of enticement of a minor for sex, transporting a minor in interstate commerce for sex, committing those offenses while being required to register as a sex offender, and attempting to escape from the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
According to the Department of Justice, Miller bought his victim a secret cell phone, and the two exchanged over 2900 messages. The DOJ added that Miller told his victim that he was going to divorce his wife so that the two could be married. The release from the DOJ goes on to explain that in December 2019 Miller took his victim on a long-haul trucking run to New Mexico and raped them multiple times.
Miller was taken to a hospital for a procedure while he was incarcerated and awaiting trial on August 14, 2020, where he attempted to escape, according to the DOJ.
The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. This is a nationwide initiative working to combat “the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” It was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.