Columbia Man Convicted of Child Enticement
A Columbia, Missouri man was found guilty of attempting to meet a law enforcement officer posing as a 14-year-old girl for sex. Darren Wade Lasley, 32, responded to an online classified advertisement on Craigslist in June 2017, which was part of an undercover operation by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department Cyber Crimes Task Force.
In a series of email exchanges, Lasley described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy. He proposed visiting her residence while her mother was at work or out of town. On June 21, 2017, Lasley asked the decoy to sneak out of her house to meet him for a sexual rendezvous. He was arrested when he arrived at the arranged location.
The jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes. 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.
This 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. The project marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.
Lasley is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley S. Turner and Aaron M. Maness. The case was investigated by the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the FBI. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Project Safe Childhood aims to identify and rescue victims of child exploitation and abuse. For more information about the initiative, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For internet safety education resources, click on the tab “resources” on the same website.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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