A central Iowa man was arrested after authorities say he inappropriately communicated with an undercover officer posing as an underaged girl earlier this year.
Thomas Stone of Des Moines, 30, was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor – cause to engage in act, a Class B felony, and two counts of telephone dissemination of obscene material to minor – first offense, an aggravated misdemeanor.
Court records say from June 21 to June 29, Stone communicated with an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl via Snapchat. Authorities say Stone knew he was sending messages with a person he thought was an underaged girl. Stone allegedly sent unsolicited photos of his genitalia to the undercover officer’s account.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office says it executed a search warrant on Stone’s Snapchat account which provided law enforcement with his phone number and location. According to court documents, Stone sent messages to the undercover officer’s account asking for nude photos and inviting the officer’s alias to spend the night with him.
A warrant for Stone’s arrest was issued on August 18th and he was taken into custody on September 2nd.
Stone was transported to the Marion County Jail and was later freed after posting a $29,000 bond.
Stone has a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 10th.
