LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas man accused of abducting a pregnant Beaver Dam teenager and taking her across state lines has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
Online court records show 41-year-old Gary Day of Cabot, Arkansas agreed Tuesday to plead guilty to one count of enticement of a minor and one count of production of child sexual abuse material. Under the agreement, Day faces at least 25 years in federal prison.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, federal prosecutors would dismiss several other counts, including enticement to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, transportation of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
As part of the agreement, Day admitted to using Snapchat to communicate with Sophia Franklin, who was 16 at the time. Messages detailed in a criminal complaint said the two arranged to meet at a hotel in Franklin’s hometown in early 2024.
Authorities say Franklin was later found at a gas station in Austin, Arkansas in December of 2024 and returned to Wisconsin. Day told investigators he had traveled to Wisconsin to pick her up and bring her back to Arkansas. Franklin told investigators she and Day were in a sexual relationship.
The case drew wide attention in February of 2025 when the Wisconsin State Patrol issued an AMBER Alert for Franklin after she was reported missing from Beaver Dam. At the time, authorities said she was believed to be three months pregnant and traveling with Day. Previous reporting from People, citing Beaver Dam Police and the Wisconsin AMBER Alert, said Franklin was last seen at her Beaver Dam home on February 2, 2025, and that Day was seen at the home the following evening.
Authorities said Franklin and Day were believed to be traveling in a black Buick LaCrosse, and the alert identified Day as the suspect in the alleged abduction. People reported at the time that online court records showed Day had been charged in Wisconsin with two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement causing mental or bodily harm.
Franklin and Day remained missing for nearly two months. They were located in Nebraska on April 2, 2025, Franklin’s 17th birthday. People reported that Beaver Dam Police said she was found after a couple became suspicious after speaking with her at a truck stop, and that Franklin and her unborn child were safe and healthy.
Day is also charged in Dodge County with two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement. Those state charges remain separate from the federal case in Arkansas.
