SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – A man was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for enticing a Chatham County girl and convincing her to travel from Georgia to New York with him.

Jordan Harris, 25, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 127 months in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He must register as a sex offender and serve 15 years of supervised release once released from prison.

As described in court, back in December 2021, a Chatham County woman contacted the Garden City Police Department about her missing daughter. After a few days, she learned that her daughter was in New York and brought her back to Georgia.

Officials say Harris messaged the victim online for nearly a year before persuading her to travel with him to New York. Along the way, he told her to remove the SIM card from her phone so they couldn’t be tracked.

It wasn’t until November 2022 that he was arrested after again traveling to Savannah to contact the victim.

Investigators then found evidence on Harris’ phone of at least seven other minors whom he had similar communication with.

“A nightmare scenario for every parent is the prospect of their child being persuaded by a predatory adult to leave home,” said U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg for the Southern District of Georgia. “The community is safer with Jordan Harris behind bars.”

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or report.cybertip.org.