Gary Day, 40, has pleaded guilty in federal court to enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and to production of child sexual abuse material in a case tied to the disappearance of a Beaver Dam teenager. Under a plea agreement, he faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in federal prison and will be required to register as a sex offender. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Court filings state that Day communicated with the girl online before traveling to Wisconsin, and investigators later recovered an explicit image from his phone during a forensic exam. The case is connected to a February 2025 Amber Alert involving a Beaver Dam teen who was later found with Day at a Nebraska truck stop and reunited with her family in April 2025.
According to WTMJ, Day entered the guilty pleas in federal court in Little Rock on July 7. As part of the agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss four other counts, including transportation and travel-with-intent charges. The outlet reports that a judge also ordered the forfeiture of several electronic devices investigators say were used in the crimes, and the plea requires Day to register as a sex offender once he is sentenced.
How Investigators Say It Unfolded
Court filings and local reporting say Day first connected with the then-teen online in 2024 and that their messages led to an in-person meeting at a Beaver Dam hotel early last year, according to WMTV. Authorities say a tip from truckers prompted Sarpy County deputies to find Day and the teen at a Nebraska truck stop on April 2, 2025, and that she was safely reunited with her family, as reported by WOWT.
State Case Still Open
The federal plea does not resolve separate state charges in Dodge County, where Day still faces counts that include child abduction and child enticement. Court records and reporting show that a telephone scheduling conference in the Dodge County case is set for Aug. 10, according to WTMJ, and state prosecutors are expected to proceed independently of the federal matter.
Federal Context
Federal prosecutors have prioritized online enticement and child sexual abuse material investigations through initiatives such as the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, which coordinates federal, state and local resources to locate and prosecute offenders and to rescue victims, according to the Department of Justice. Day’s guilty pleas add to a series of federal cases that treat online grooming and the production of child sexual abuse material as offenses that cross state lines and trigger federal jurisdiction.
