An Oregon man has received a 6 year prison sentence for attempted sexual abuse after sending sexual texts to a 12 year old girl. Her mother saw the messages and notified police who then arrested the man where he was trying to meet the young girl. From FoxNews:
A Gresham man has been sentenced to 6 years in prison for attempted rape after a mother discovered his inappropriate text messages on her 12-year-old daughter's cell phone.
Prosecutors said 29-year-old Patrick Lee Kenney also pleaded no contest to attempted sexual abuse and furnishing obscene material to a minor.
Kenney met the girl on the MySpace site.
The girl's mother accidentally saw the text messages and gave the phone to Klamath County sheriff's deputies, who continued the text chat with Kenney.
Detectives say they arrested Kenney at a park while he was trying to meet the victim.
Prosecutor David Groff said the case is a reminder about the dangers children face from Internet predators.
The key to the case is that he was arrested at the meeting place. If he had merely sent text messages, there wouldn't be sufficient evidence for an attempt conviction. However, unlike in other cases, the police waited to arrest the defendant until after he had taken the requisite attempt act.
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