'Dangerous' Convicted Sex Offender Who Attempted to Buy 7-Year-Old Girl to Be 'Locked Up for a Long Time'

A West Virginia man has pleaded guilty to failing to update his sex offender registration after he was arrested in Mexico for trying to "purchase" a 7-year-old girl, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia said.

Convicted sex offender Scott David Bixler, 43, admitted traveling outside of the country in August 2023 without notifying the West Virginia State Police as required by his sex offender status.

He faces up to 10 years in federal prison as a result.

According to prosecutors, Bixler was arrested in Mexico, where investigators say he was attempting to purchase a 7-year-old girl.

According to court documents, Bixler was found to be in possession of two tranquilizer air guns, methamphetamines, a cell phone signal jammer and $5,000 in cash to purchase the child.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Services and the West Virginia State Police.

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

“It should be a relief to everyone, especially to parents of young children, knowing that someone as dangerous as Scott Bixler has been convicted and will be locked up for a long time,” U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the work of law enforcement to apprehend Bixler and bring him to justice.”

TMX contributed to this report.