Fairfield Man, 60, Claims Misread Text Caused Him to Seek Sex with 13-Year-Old Boy: Report

FAIRFIELD, CT — A 60-year-old Fairfield man was sentenced to two years in prison after a Superior Court judge didn’t buy his excuse that eye problems caused him to misread a text that led him to believe he was about to have sex with an 18-year-old, and not a 13-year-old, at a Fairfield home, according to the Connecticut Post.

Daniel Tepfer of the Post reports that Charles Lawrence III, one of 10 men arrested in last October’s sexual predator sting operation in Fairfield, told the judge he isn’t a pedophile and has never seen or downloaded child pornography in his life.

But in addition to the prison time, Lawrence, who was a successful New York accountant, was ordered by the judge to register as a sex offender, according to Tepfer.

Last October’s four-day sting operation was carried out by former “To Catch a Predator” personality Chris Hansen in cooperation with the Fairfield Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office.

Also see:

• Former Cop Candidate Pleads Guilty in Connection to Fairfield Sexual Predator Sting Operation
• Details Emerge in Child Predator Sting Operation

In the sting operation, the men went to a Fairfield house to meet up with someone they believed was either a 13-year-old boy or a 12-year-old girl they had been communicating with via the Internet and text messages.

Read more about Lawrence’s sentencing at the Connecticut Post here.

Image via Shutterstock

Also see:

• Man Tries to Lure Student, 12, into Car: PD; Teacher Serves Jail Time; Good Samaritan Puts Out Gas Station Fire: CT News