A Douglas County man was sentenced to prison in Jackson County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty to meeting a child in Jefferson for sex.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, Edward Thomas Lynch, 60, of the community of Winston, entered a guilty plea to a five-count indictment on Aug 21.
Allegedly, Lynch violated the computer child pornography act upon his attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes, to commit child molestation and to have sexual intercourse with a child. He was sentenced to 20 years with the first three years in prison, the rest on probation. Lynch must pay a $3,228 fine and register as a sex offender when released from prison, the news outlet reported.
Lynch was arrested after a Jefferson Police Department sergeant posed as a 14-year-old girl online, the Banner-Herald said. The indictment stated that on July 16, Lynch solicited the child for sex and arranged to meet her at an apartment complex in Jefferson .
Lynch arrived at the apartment complex on July 17 in a van, where he was arrested, Police told the newspaper. Lynch remains in jail.
