British man admits he traveled to Alabama to have child sex 10 years ago, feds say

Published 4:09 pm Wednesday, December 20, 2023

A British man admitted Wednesday to traveling to Alabama in order to have sex with a child more than 10 years ago, federal prosecutors said.

Mark Anthony Bedwell, 53, of Lowestoft, England, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala to aggravated sexual abuse: crossing the state line with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a child under 12, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

According to court documents, Bedwell travelled from the United Kingdom to Huntsville, Alabama, in May 2013 and engaged in a sex act with a child in Madison County. The maximum penalty for the charge is life in prison.

Charles Dunnavant, 37, of Huntsville, Alabama, previously pled guilty on June 16, 2015, to the same charge in a related case before U.S. District Court Judge Madeline H. Haikala. Dunnavant was sentenced to 435 months imprisonment.

If you suspect or become aware of possible sexual exploitation of a child, please contact law enforcement. To alert the FBI Birmingham Office, call 205-326-6166.

Reports can also be filed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.