Underage sex sting nets two
Published 5:34 pm Saturday, July 12, 2008
DEMOPOLIS &8212; Authorities here arrested two Alabama men in conjunction with an Internet sex sting.
Michael Mayes, 41, of Semmes, was arrested at his home by Demopolis investigators and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, interim Police Chief Tim Williams said.
Mayes faces federal charges for transferring obscene material to minors.
Also nabbed was Joseph Lejsek, 28, of Silverhill. Lejsek was arrested on Alabama Highway 43 North, heading into Demopolis. He faces charges of soliciting a child by computer and transmitting obscene material to a child by computer.
Both men sent nude photographs of themselves to a Demopolis police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Mayes&8217; charges are different because he never sought to make contact like Lesjek did.
Over the past two years, Soronen and the department have arrested eight men looking online for sex with a minor.
Demopolis police troll certain Internet sites, keeping a lookout for those who might prey on underage youths. Soronen wouldn&8217;t divulge what sites the program uses.
Williams said the Demopolis department is careful about letting online predators set themselves up.
Those guidelines have paid off, Soronen said.
Lejsek is still in custody at the Marengo County Detention Center on $50,000 bond. Bond information on Mayes was not available.
The charges against Lesjek are Class B felonies, which could mean a sentence of two to 20 years in prison if convicted.
However, the state charges may be folded in to federal charges similar to the ones levied against Mayes, Williams said.