Robert L. Payne, 77, of Fenton has pleaded guilty to soliciting nude pictures from an undercover police officer who was posing as a teenager. The suspect met with the undercover officer at a St. Louis County park, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Payne pleaded guilty Tuesday, Aug. 9, to felony solicitation of child pornography in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8 in front of U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White, court records show.
Payne initially was charged in March 2021 with solicitation of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor, but the coercion and enticement of a minor charge was dropped in exchange for his guilty plea to soliciting child pornography, which is punishable by five to 20 years in prison, according to the plea agreement.
After receiving numerous complaints about Payne’s behavior, St. Louis County Police monitored Fenton City Park, 1215 Larkin Williams Road, between March 1, 2021, and March 4, 2021. During that period, Payne spent hours at the park in a red 2001 Ford Ranger and repeatedly tried to talk with adolescent men, the report said.
On March 2, 2021, 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, 2021, Payne allegedly tried to talk to about a dozen adolescent boys near the park’s basketball courts, according to the report.
The St. Louis County Police detective posed as a teen, 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. Payne also asked the officer to send him lewd pictures, the report said.
Payne admitted that he previously was investigated by Velda City Police in January 2013 when he communicated for 25 days through email with an undercover officer pretending to be a 15-year-old. Payne continuously tried to arrange a meeting to have sex with the officer he thought was teen and was arrested after going to meet the officer
Payne had two guns in his vehicle when he was arrested by Velda City Police, but he was never charged in the case, according to the plea agreement.
In July 2018, Payne was arrested by Sunset Hills Police, and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged him with sexual misconduct and attempted statutory sodomy following an incident in Minnie Ha Ha Park, where he approached a 16-year-old boy and offered him sex, the agreement said.
However, 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.