KINGMAN – A 35-year prison term was ordered Monday for a Laughlin man snared in an undercover sting operation targeting males preying upon minors for sex. Judge Doug Camacho piled on the years Monday for Jay Lawler, 46, convicted at trial of luring a minor, aggravated luring of a minor, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
Lawler and more than a dozen other men from Parker to Las Vegas have been prosecuted since engaging in sexually explicit communications with a Mohave County Sheriff’s detective posing as a 13-year-old girl. Lawler was convicted of sending a naked image of himself to the decoy, while asking the decoy to reciprocate.
Deputy County Attorney Jacob Cote said Lawler was arrested last Oct. after driving to Kingman thinking he was going to have sex with the teen at her father’s house. Lawler was instead arrested by detectives who showed up at the fast food-meeting location.
His 78-year-old mother said she doesn’t understand why her son has to go to prison when he’s never been in trouble before and never touched the imaginary person. The woman told Mohave County Judge Doug Camacho that she is from an era where you actually have to have a victim if you’re going to be sent to prison.
The woman complained that the detective at the center of the investigation must “hate his job” for running a sting that she said turned good people to bad.
Defense attorney Paul Amman said the woman was understandably upset, but that he did not agree with her comments disparaging the detective.
Various judges handling the body of cases arising from the sting have brushed aside entrapment arguments siding with law enforcement in hunting for men who might prey upon children. The only other defendant to go to trial, Kevin Moninger, 64, Las Vegas, is serving a 34-year prison sentence.
Most of the other defendants resolved their cases through plea agreements resulting in 5- to 10-year prison terms.
Dave Hawkins
