Dad who took daughter along in sex sting gets 13 years

A 36-year-old Cabot man who took his 3-year-old daughter to what he thought was a sexual liaison with a 15-yearold girl has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after the teen turned out to be a Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Sentencing papers filed last week by deputy prosecutor Katie Hinojosa show Michael Shawn Kelley pleaded guilty to internet stalking of a child in exchange for the prison sentence imposed by Circuit Judge Barry Sims. The charge was reduced from a Class Y felony, which carries a potential life sentence, to a B felony that has a 20-year maximum.

Under the conditions of his plea agreement, negotiated by public defender Andrew Thornton, prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor marijuana charge and Kelley’s 13-year sentence will be followed by a seven-year suspended sentence. Kelley must also register as a sex offender.

Court filings and police reports show Kelley has been jailed since his Jan. 14 arrest when he showed up at a Jacksonville home, thinking he was going to meet up with a 15-yearold girl he had been communicating with through Facebook. Deputies arrested him when he pulled into the driveway of the home. His daughter was in a dirty car seat next to him. She was turned over to Kelley’s mother, Rebecca Speer.

Kelley admitted he had gone to the home to have sex with the teen.

Court filings show Kelley first contacted a Facebook account run by undercover Sheriff’s Office deputies portraying a teen girl on Jan. 11. Kelley asked the girl if she smoked marijuana and if she could leave from where she was.

The day of his arrest, Kelley again contacted the fictitious teen through Facebook and asked if she wanted to hang out after she got out of school. When investigators asked

Kelley what he wanted to do, Kelley answered, “smoke and maybe f**k.”

Making arrangements to meet, Kelley asked the girl to wait for him on the front porch of the home. When asked why, Kelley responded, “you know cuz [sic] you are under age.” He further explained he wanted to make sure she was “not a cop acting.” During the online conversation, he also asked her whether she was sexually aroused and if she would have intercourse with him as soon as he arrived.

An undercover investigator was on the porch when he arrived, according to an arrest report.