A 75-year-old Fenton has been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for solicitation of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor, the St. Louis County Police announced today (March 11).
Robert Payne was charged on Wednesday (March 10), and he was being held in the St. Louis Justice Center today, authorities said.
St. Louis County Police said the department received numerous complaints about Payne’s alleged actions at Fenton City Park, 1215 Larkin Road. Payne allegedly spent hours at the park in a red 2001 Ford Ranger and repeatedly tried to talk with adolescent men, the report said.
A St. Louis County Police detective posed as a teenager, and Payne met him on March 8 on the basketball courts at the park. During their discussion, the officer told Payne he was 16 years old, and Payne allegedly solicited sex with the officer both at the park and later through emails, according to the report.
St. Louis County Police also watched Payne at the park from March 1-4, and he reportedly was seen in his pickup parked near the basketball courts March 1, authorities said.
On March 2, Payne moved his pickup about 18 times to different areas of the park, including one where the Lindbergh High School boys lacrosse team was practicing. On March 3, Payne allegedly tried to talk to about a dozen adolescent boys near the park’s basketball courts, the report said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Velda City and Sunset Hills police departments also have investigated Payne, St. Louis County Police reported.
In July 2018, Payne was arrested by Sunset Hills Police, and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with second-degree harassment, a class A misdemeanor, stemming from an incident in Minnie Ha Ha Park, where he approached a 16-year-old boy in the park and offered him sex, authorities said.
In April 2019, Payne pleaded guilty to the harassment charge, was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to stay out of Minnie Ha Ha Park. The jail sentence was suspended, and Payne was placed on two years’ probation, court records show.
St. Louis County Police said Payne may have victimized others in the area, and detectives ask anyone with any information about other alleged illegal actions to call 314-615-4692.