A Columbia, Missouri man has been convicted of attempting to meet a law enforcement officer posing online as a 14-year-old girl for illegal sexual activity.
Darren Wade Lasley, 32, was found guilty of attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity following a trial in U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo.
According to the evidence presented, on June 14, 2017, Lasley responded to an online classified advertisement on Craigslist as part of an undercover operation by a detective in the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Lasley described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy in a series of email exchanges over the course of the next several days. He proposed visiting her residence while her mother was at work or out of town.
On June 21, 2017, Lasley asked in an email if the decoy could sneak out of her house to meet him for a sexual rendezvous. Lasley was arrested when he arrived at the arranged location.
Under federal statutes, Lasley is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Related Federal Cases
- Darren Wade Lasley, Attempting to Entice a Minor for Sex, Missouri 2017 · Missouri
- William Lee Dela Cruz, Enticing a Minor for Sex, Missouri 2017 · Missouri
- Joshua T. Wilson, Minor Sex Trafficking, Missouri 2024 · Missouri
- Kenneth Ronald Jones, Sex Trafficking a Minor, Missouri 2017 · Missouri
- Logan Viquesney, Interstate Minor Sex Trafficking, VA 2024 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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