Former Arkansas teacher gets 10 years for online enticement of minor

 Evan Ballowe
Evan Ballowe

A former Fayetteville sixth-grade teacher was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday for trying to coerce a minor into having sex with him.

According to the office of U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Kenneth Elser, Evan Ballowe, 25, was also sentenced to 15 years of supervised release for "online coercion and enticement of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity."

A grand jury indicted Ballowe Dec. 9, and he pleaded guilty Feb. 3.

Court records said a 13-year-old student told a school resource office that he had been propositioned for sex in a conversation on social media. Authorities reviewed the conversation and found that a user named "Southern Guy" asked the boy if he was single, asked his age and told him he was cute.

The release said the boy told Southern Guy he was 13. Saying he was 15 and lived in Springdale, Southern Guy sent the boy sexually explicit photos and encouraged him to sneak out of the house to meet him for sex, the release said.

Authorities traced the user information to Ballowe, the release said, and they conducted a search warrant on his home after he tried to contact the minor again.

Homeland Security and the Internet Crimes Against Children task force investigated the case.

When he was arrested, Owl Creek School's website showed Ballowe had worked at the school for three years and taught Introduction to Business Communications and Technology to sixth-graders.

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