Judge sentences Columbia man to 10 years in federal prison for enticing a minor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A federal judge sentenced a Columbia man for attempting to meet a law enforcement officer who was posing online as a 14-year-old girl, for illegal sexual activity.

Darren Wade Lasley, 33, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole after he was found guilty of attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity in June 2017.

According to a release, Lasley responded by email to an online classified advertisement on Craigslist, which was placed 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.

In a series of email exchanges over the course of the next several days, Lasley described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy. Lasley proposed visiting her residence while her mother was at work or out of town.

On June 21, 2017, Lasley was arrested when he arrived at the arranged location.