Morgan County man charged with child enticement

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Morgan County man was charged with child enticement on Friday.

Matthew DeYoung, 35, of Barnett, is being held at the Morgan County Jail on a $75,000 bond. An arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office says it was notified on Thursday night about a man trying to entice someone who he thought was a 14-year-old girl. The probable cause statement says DeYoung was texting a man who was claiming to be a young girl.

Multiple screenshots viewed by law enforcement allegedly showed DeYoung sending messages that were sexual in nature to the other user, the statement says. He also tried to set up a place to meet the supposed girl for sex, court documents show.

Later that evening, law enforcement went to his home and DeYoung let them look at his phone, the statement says. Law enforcement was able to see that he deleted the application he was using to message the other user and that the app was “had a flag for misuse and was locked by the company,” the statement says.

DeYoung eventually admitted to sending the messages, but called it a mistake and alleged he did not intend to meet up with the supposed youth, the statement says.