Darren Wade Lasley, Attempting to Entice a Minor for Sex, Missouri 2017

A Columbia man has been charged with attempting to entice a minor for sex, according to a federal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo.

Darren Wade Lasley, 27, of Columbia, was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo.

Today’s complaint alleges that Lasley attempted to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Lasley responded to an online advertisement that was part of an undercover law enforcement investigation to seek out potential sexual predators. Lasley allegedly began sending e-mails to the decoy, who advised him that she was 14 years old.

Over the course of the next several days, the affidavit says, Lasley described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy through a series of e-mails. Lasley allegedly proposed visiting the decoy’s residence while her mother was at work or out of town.

On Wednesday, June 21, 2017, Lasley asked the decoy if she could sneak out of her house to meet him for a sexual rendezvous. When Lasley arrived at the meeting location in Columbia he was arrested.

Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, cautioned that the charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley S. Turner. It was investigated by the FBI and the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force.

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