FARMINGTON — A man who prosecutors say solicited two undercover law enforcers posing online as underage children now faces several charges.
Benjamin David Stoddard, 47, of Salt Lake City, was charged Tuesday in 2nd District Court with two counts of enticing a minor, a second-degree felony.
From Dec. 5 through Monday, Stoddard chatted online with an undercover officer from the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, according to charging documents. He made statements to the “girl” such as “temptation that’ll lead to addiction,” “I was just thinking about what It’d be like if I was dating your mom, after I’d secretly already met you,” and “I wanna be bad. Do things I shouldn’t do. But really really want to,” the charges state.
He also talked about taking the girl to Montana, according to a police affidavit. He arranged to meet the girl on Monday night in Fruit Heights for the purpose of having sex, the affidavit states. When he got there, however, he sent the “girl” a message “stating that he was in the area of the meet location, but had observed some police activity,” according to the affidavit,
Officers located Stoddard’s vehicle nearby, pulled him over and arrested him.
Right before he was arrested, police say Stoddard began talking with a second undercover officer also posing online as a 13-year-old girl. In that case, he sent messages such as, “I love little girls lol,” “Soooo taboo. And I like it. I really think it’d be so hot to take your mom out and then sneak you out for some fun together,” and “I should probably date her in public ... and enjoy you in private lol.”