A Florida man is facing prison time after being exposed for propositioning a minor in March. This development comes after law enforcement arrested the individual, who was filmed on Instagram live by a minor female victim.
The Tampa Police Department described the encounter between the alleged predator and his victim.
According to police, the victim could be seen laying in 73-year-old James Clarence Lehnert’s lap as Lehnert stroked the victim’s head with his hands while talking about engaging in sexual acts, his sexual experiences with his ex-wife, and his life experience regarding sex.
The victim’s video was seen by several people on March 31 just after midnight, according to officials. Investigators say a friend who had the victim’s iPhone location saw the video and contacted the Tampa Police Department.
When responding officers arrived at the victim’s location, Lehnert’s home, they knocked on the front door. Lehnert was only wearing a robe and socks when officers arrived, according to TPD.
Tampa police spoke with the victim who they say made statements that were suggestive of a sex act happening between them and Lehnert.
The victim told law enforcement that they met Lehnert around 10 p.m. on March 30. According to the victim, they took a bus from an area near their home to the area of East Busch Boulevard and N Nebraska Ave.
While they were sitting on a curb outside a store, Lehnert drove up and asked if they needed a ride, according to officials.
Investigators say the victim agreed and got inside Lehnert’s car. Lehnert then told the victim they were driving to his home and proceeded to start a conversation about having sex for money.
Law enforcement indicated that Lehnert offered the victim $200 to have sex with him. However, she refused. He then offered $60 for oral sex, and she agreed. She recounted giving oral sex to Lehnert for about ten minutes. This is when the victim turned on Instagram Live because she felt uncomfortable.
The suspect did not tell the authorities what led to his meeting with the victim. But police obtained a search warrant for his home and gathered DNA evidence.
The Instagram Live video was seen by several users, one of whom provided police with the victim’s iPhone location, which is how the authorities found and arrested him. The suspect claimed he did not know the victim’s age before engaging in sexual activity with her.
The suspect was released from jail on Monday.
In January, Florida state lawmakers proposed harsher penalties for child predators.
Spring Hills Sen. Blaise Ingoglia is teaming up with two fellow Republicans in the House to crack down on internet predation and hold manufacturers of mobile devices more accountable for child safety.
Ingoglia and his collaborators filed a pair of proposals to improve online protections for Florida minors. One measure focuses on punishment and adding guardrails. The other would create a funding source local police could tap for web-based sting operations.
“These two bills will give law enforcement the tools they need in order to put online child predators behind bars for a long, long time,” Ingoglia said in a statement. “Keeping these lowlifes off the street and having them on the sex offender registry will help ensure our children are protected from the ever-present harms of social media platforms.”
The first pair of bills (SB 1196, HB 1129), titled the “Protect Our Children Act,” would hike penalties for “luring or enticing” minors under 12 to physical locations for unlawful purposes to a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison for the first offense, up from a first-degree misdemeanor.
This story, as disturbing as it is, is one of many that happen every day across the country. It is a stark reminder for parents to keep a close eye on their children.
