Columbia man federally indicted for attempting illicit sex with minor

A Columbia man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday for attempting to entice an undercover officer, whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl, to meet for illicit sex.

Darren Wade Lasley, 28, of Columbia, allegedly attempted to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity between June 14 and June 21, 2017.

According to the official release, A detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department posted an undercover online advertisement in an attempt to seek out potential sexual predators and Lasley responded.

Lasley later described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy and on June 21, 2017, asked the decoy if she could sneak out of her house to meet him for a sexual rendezvous. When Lasley arrived at the arranged meeting location, he was arrested.