Registered Offender Pleads Guilty After Getting Snared In Underage Sex Sting

WESTMINSTER (CBS) — A 41-year-old registered sex offender was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to trying to meet an underage girl for sex.

David Walker Bryan of Anaheim responded to a Craigslist online personals section ad posted by Huntington Beach police to meet a fictitious 13-year-old girl, Deputy District Attorney Eric Scarbrough said.

Bryan unwittingly contacted an undercover detective online thinking he was talking to the girl, who claimed she needed help of some kind, and he sent her several graphic, sexually explicit emails and text messages, Scarbrough said.

Bryan was arrested where he arranged to meet the girl. He reportedly told the girl to wear red underwear.

Investigators found a substantial amount of pornographic pictures and videos of children on Bryan's computer, Scarbrough said.

Bryan had a 1989 conviction in Arizona for attempted sexual assault of a minor, Scarbrough said. He could not provide further details

"[Bryan] had a prior conviction out of the state of Arizona and anytime we see a defendant with a prior conviction that is definitely something that gives us a lot of concern," Scarbrough said.

Bryan pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted lewd acts on a child under 14 and one count each of contacting a child with the intent to commit lewd acts, meeting a minor with the intent to commit lewd acts and possession of child pornography,Scarbrough said.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John D. Conley made the plea bargain offer to Bryan, Scarbrough said.

The maximum Bryan could have faced if convicted at trial would have been six years and eight months in prison.

Bryan has credit for 530 days served in custody.

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