Man gets 14 years in assault of girl
Victim, 13, was lured to Texas and used for sex
“I’ve been in therapy to process the trauma I went through.” Teenage victim
A Schertz man was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in federal prison for transporting a 13year-old girl from Arkansas to Texas with intent to have sex with her.
The girl had vanished from her home after going for a walk.
Kraig David Van Winkle, 36, met the girl online and picked her up near her Springdale, Ark., home in January 2020 after they communicated on social media applications.
Court records show the FBI found the girl two days later at his apartment in Schertz and discovered evidence that Van Winkle used the girl in bondage situations for his sexual gratification.
Besides handing down the 168-month prison sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia also ordered Van Winkle to serve 10 years of federal supervision after his release.
“I apologize to the family I broke up,” Van Winkle told Garcia. “It was because of my own selfish needs . ... I want to get back out there and be the same person I was before all this occurrence happened.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson read a letter from the teen and the girl’s mother, both asking the judge to impose a high sentence.
“What happened impacted my mental health,” the girl’s letter said. “I’ve been in therapy to process the trauma I went through. I have panic attacks from certain triggers.”
Thompson told the judge that Van Winkle was 34 when he engaged in sexual acts with the girl, knowing she was a minor.
“He states it was mutual, but she’s 13,” Thompson said. “He drives 10 hours to her house. When he can’t get ahold of her, he waits. The next morning, he says I’m here and takes her. He made her ditch her phone so nobody can track her. He brings her down to Texas and sexually assaults her.”
According to an FBI affidavit, Van Winkle arrived late to the girl’s town, and by then she had fallen asleep. He waited until the next day, and she left with him after she told her parents she was going for a jog, the affidavit said.
As they were driving, Van Winkle told the girl to throw her cellphone out of the window and into a storm drain to prevent law enforcement and her family from being able to track her, the affidavit said.
A review of her social media accounts by agents found she had been in contact with multiple individuals on social media platforms as late as December 2019, and “had discussed dark sexual subjects including bondage,” according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said a witness saw the girl get into a vehicle on Jan. 9 with a license plate registered to Van Winkle. Another witness reported seeing the same vehicle at a business near the child’s home, and further investigation showed Van Winkle had traveled to and from Arkansas.
When the FBI showed up at his apartment on Jan. 11, 2020, Van Winkle opened the door, soaking wet and wearing only a towel. He tried to shut the door, but agents went in and found the girl nude in the tub.
After interviewing both, agents found Van Winkle had bought condoms and learned that the girl was “periodically handcuffed, bound with rope, and had her mouth covered by tape” during her stay at Van Winkle’s apartment. Agents confirmed Van Winkle performed sexual acts with the girl, the affidavit said.