A 43-year-old Georgia man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after admitting to a series of child sex crimes involving a 16-year-old teenager he tried to “sell” on a dark-web forum used by sexual predators, prosecuters said.
The offender, Kelly Garrett Ivey, pleaded guilty to human trafficking for sexual servitude, attempted rape, first-degree child cruelty and related offences. The sentence—life with the possibilty of parole after 50 years—closes a case that began when FBI cyber-crime agents discovered Ivey’s 2023 post on “Slave Bay,” a clandestine marketplace.
According to the indictment, Ivey uploaded the teenager’s photograph and offered to disclose her school, vehicle description and daily routine to anyone willing to pay to abduct and assault her. Investigators later found social-media images of at least two additional minors on his devices.
The victim’s family told agents they knew Ivey only as a former volunteer at their church. “I never imagined the threat was inside our own community,” the girl’s mother said in a 2023 interview. “If telling our story spares one child, it’s worth it.”
Federal agents intercepted the plot before any attempt to abduct the teenager was made. District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale praised the “swift cooperation” of local and federal investigators and urged parents, educators and clergy to “trust your instincts—if something feels off, report it immediately.”