CLAYTON, Mo. – A Crystal City, Missouri man was sentenced Thursday for trying to arrange a tryst with a 14-year-old girl and that girl’s mother.

A St. Louis County jury convicted Leonard Nickelson on Aug. 30, 2022, of attempted enticement of a child and attempted sexual misconduct involving a child under 15.

According to prosecutors, the incident happened on July 30, 2019. Nickelson, 43, responded to a post on the anonymous messaging app Whisper, believing he was communicating with a mother and her 14-year-old daughter. In truth, he was speaking with an undercover officer.

Nickelson arranged to meet the mother and daughter at a local hotel to have sex with the two of them. He also sent a picture of his genitals to the undercover officer, thinking it was the 14-year-old.

Nickelson was later arrested at the hotel.

An undercover detective testified for the prosecution. Nickelson took the stand on his own behalf. The defense attorney claimed Nickelson intended to only have sex with the adult and had been entrapped by the detective.

Nickelson was sentenced to five years on the first count and one year on the second charge. He will serve those sentences concurrently.