Contact Made via Cell Phone App and Adult Dating Website

ST. LOUIS, MO (April 10, 2024) — Raymond Gardner, 42, was found guilty of attempted enticement of a child in a 2019 case involving a 10-year-old girl.

The girl, who had received her first cell phone for Christmas, set up an online account on the dating website Fling, seeking adult men and claiming she was 18 years old. Gardner contacted the girl on his cell phone using the Kik messaging app, which is frequently used for sexting. He sent her explicit photos of himself and persuaded her to send him nude photos of herself. When he asked her if she was underage, the girl told him she was 12. He then asked her how long she could sneak out of the house and if she could meet him to have sex in his car.

The girl’s mother found Gardner’s profile on her daughter’s phone and told him to stop contacting her or she would call the police. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s cybercrimes unit reviewed the messages, videos, and photos on the girl’s phone, and traced them to Gardner. During Gardner’s trial, the girl and her mother both testified to the trauma she had experienced.

Sentencing is set for April 29, 2024. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Jeremy Crowley, Supervisor of the Special Victims Unit, and Assistant Circuit Attorney Lydia Stewart.

“This was a challenging case that demonstrates the appalling ease with which common technology can be used to exploit children,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “Knowing that a jury of 12 people and our prosecuting team believed her will be invaluable as she heals from her trauma.”

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