LOUISA COUNTY, Va. — Ray C. Lester, 29, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended. Lester, who was previously convicted of two counts of solicitation of a minor, was arrested in January outside the Arby’s parking lot in Zion Crossroads.
Lester planned to rendezvous and have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met online, Louisa Commonwealth’s Attorney Rusty McGuire said. Instead he was apprehended by Louisa County Sheriff’s deputies, Albemarle Police and the SOVA Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The agencies were conducting a winter break Craigslist sting.
Lester, who communicated with the law enforcement posing as a teen, was arrested with a .40 semi-automatic pistol with 13 rounds in the driver’s side door. They also found a freshly cut six-foot-long rope in his truck.
“Mr. Lester’s behavior highlights the danger that children face in cyberspace today,” McGuire said. “Not only are predators trying to exploit our children, this one showed up with a gun and rope. We are lucky that the child happened to be an undercover ICAC officer.”
The Madison County father faced up to 60 years in prison.
