Michael Joseph Smith, 39, of Barnhart has been sentenced to seven years and three months in prison after he arranged to meet an agent posing as an underage girl in Illinois for sex, according to court records.
U.S. District Judge David W. Dugan sentenced Smith on Aug. 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis. Smith had pleaded guilty on March 5 to a felony charge of attempted enticement of a minor, court papers show.
According to the judgement, Smith will serve his sentence either in Lisbon, Ohio, or Seagoville, Texas. After he is released, he will be on supervised release for 10 years.
In his plea agreement, Smith admitted that on June 23, 2021, he contacted a girl identifying herself as “Lindsey” on a social media dating app. The person he contacted actually was an FBI agent.
Smith said after the two connected through the app, they communicated through text messages, and during those conversations, the agent said she was 14 years old. Smith eventually agreed to meet her for sex at a home in Collinsville, Ill., according to the agreement.
When Smith arrived at the home on June 26, 2021, he was arrested. Investigators discovered he had brought condoms and a White Claw alcoholic beverage, like he said he would in the text messages, the agreement said.