A 31 year prison sentence was imposed Friday for a Las Vegas man convicted of intending to have sex with a 13-year-old girl who was actually a Mohave County Sheriff’s detective posing as “Sabrina” in an undercover investigation targeting men who prey upon minors. A trial jury convicted Kevin Moninger, 63, of attempted sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
Moninger answered an ad the detective placed on the internet Doublelist match site before the initial communication was diverted to text messages. More than 1,200 text message exchanges occurred before Moninger drove to Kingman intending to meet Sabrina at a motel while her mother was at work.
Moninger was intercepted and arrested by detectives. He complained in a letter to Judge Derek Carlisle that he was the victim of entrapment.
“I thought I was writing an adult female not an adult detective,” Moninger said in his letter. “I should not be judged for not showing remorse because there was no victim.”
Judge Carlisle called the undercover sting operation that resulted in the indictment of nine men from Las Vegas and northwest Arizona a proactive approach to catching predators before there are real victims. Carlisle ordered that Moninger shall serve lifetime probation if released from prison.
