PANAMA CITY -- Thomas Monroe Lee, 40, of Gadsden, Ala., was sentenced Wednesday to serve 10 years and one month in federal prison for using the Internet in an attempt to persuade, induce and enticea minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to a release from the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, evidence presented during a three-day trial in April proved that, on June14, 2012, law enforcement officers posed as a 14-year-old boy named Skylar and responded to an advertisement entitled “Last call!!!!– m4m – 1840 (PCB/Lagunabeach),”which had been posted under the“Casual Encounters” link on Craigslist. Over the next 48 hours, Lee engaged in email chats and text messages with Skylar that were sexual in nature, prosecutors said. Subsequently, Lee drove to a location where he had arranged to meet Skylar and transport him back to his residence to engage in sexual activity. Once Lee arrived at the location, officers from various law enforcement agencies arrested him for attempted online enticement of a child.
Lee also was sentenced to a fine in the amount of $1,000, a $100 special monetary assessment, and a 7-year term of supervised release, which he will be required to serve upon completion of his sentence.