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A Lubbock sex offender has been sentenced to life in federal prison for abusing a 15-year-old girl, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Jason Lee Guthrey, who was already a registered sex offender at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty in June to enticement of a minor. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix.

“Today’s life sentence is a commitment from law enforcement that we will not allow the defendant to intimidate, coerce or assault a child again,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno. “I am grateful for the work of the investigative team on this specific case, and their continued pursuit for justice as they work to protect the most vulnerable members of our community.”

According to plea papers, a truck driver discovered the young girl sitting on the side of the road in freezing weather on Nov. 30, 2020. Jane Doe later told law enforcement she’d left her home to get away from Mr. Guthrey, who was dating one of her relatives and who had sexually assaulted her in her sleep on several occasions.

In text messages, Mr. Guthrey, then 44, pleaded with the girl not to reveal the abuse:

“l’m am [sic] truly sorry for that I don’t want you to be mad at me,” he wrote in a series of texts in early November. “Please keep this between you and me please.”

“I’m sorry about the things that I have wanted to do with you but I will never do anything that will hurt you. I am sure that I can be a great guy,” he continued a few weeks later. “And please keep this between us.”

At his sentencing hearing, prosecutors argued that Mr. Guthrey was a dangerous child predator who refused to take responsibility for his actions. In fact,  as an attempt to excuse his behavior at the hearing, Mr. Guthrey claimed he was “still friends” with a prior minor victim of his, and further claimed his advances on the current victim were simply the result of drug use.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Lubbock Resident Agency and the Lubbock Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the case.