Navy servicemember sentenced to 10 years in prison after attempting to meet a 14-year-old for sex

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor.

According to court documents, on April 28, 2024, Michael Andrew Cook, 42, using the Whisper social media app, contacted another user (UC1) who identified herself as a 14-year-old female in Virginia. Cook identified himself as Mike and acknowledged UC1’s age. In reality, UC1 was a special agent from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) working in an undercover capacity.

From April 28, 2024, to July 12, 2024, Cook engaged with UC1 by text messages, telephone conversations, and social media messaging. At the time, Cook was a U.S. Navy servicemember assigned to a Naval Command at Naval Station Norfolk.

UC1 stated that she was staying with her mother in Carrollton, but also stayed with her father in Hampton. Cook and UC1 discussed her father being a U.S. Navy servicemember who was currently deployed. Cook suggested he could be “a kind of father figure” to UC1.

From June 27, 2024, through July 12, 2024, Cook initiated sexually explicit conversations with UC1. Cook requested multiple pictures of UC1 and, on July 10, 2024, Cook asked UC1 when she would be in the Hampton area. Cook offered to pick up UC1 down the road from where she was staying and called her to discuss him travelling to meet her.

On July 12, 2024, Cook drove from Virginia Beach to Hampton to meet UC1. Cook was arrested upon arrival after he messaged UC1 that he was parked in the circle in front of the house.

At the time of the arrest, Cook had in his possession sexual toys, a pair of women’s underwear in a plastic bag, and human collars used in sexual fetishes.

In addition to contacting UC1, Cook contacted two other undercover agents posing as 14-year-old girls on July 9, 2024, and July 10, 2024.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Emily Schmid, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the 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, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-106.