Missouri Man Sentenced to 10 years for Attempted Child Enticement

OMAHA, Neb.-- Acting United States Attorney Jan Sharp announced that Craig Darrah, age 56, formerly of Saint Peters, Missouri, was sentenced in federal court today in Omaha, Nebraska, for attempted child enticement. 

United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Darrah to 10 years of imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  After completing his term of imprisonment, Darrah will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. 

In August 2020, law enforcement posted an online advertisement for sex.  The advertisement stated it was $100 for a half-hour and $200 for an hour.  On September 4, 2020, Darrah responded to the advertisement. 

Between September 4, 2020, and September 24, 2020, Darrah texted and had phone calls with an undercover agent.  The undercover agent indicated she was 15 years old. 

On September 24, 2020, Darrah agreed to go to an apartment in Omaha and pay $150 to have sex with who he believed to be a 15-year-old female.    Officers made contact with Darrah when he arrived. 

He admitted that he agreed to pay $150 to have sex with the female.   

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.