Internet Predator Arrested

62-year-old Ronald Ralph Coleman was arrested Tuesday afternoon with the charge of Enticement of a Child.

Boone County Sheriff's Detectives had been assigned to the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force along with deputies from the Cole County Sheriff's Department. At the time of Coleman's arrest, a search warrant was served at the suspect's residence during which computers and associated media were seized.

This arrest stems from a four-month investigation into the enticement of children over the Internet. In August 2007, the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force, who serves a seven-county area in mid-Missouri, received a complaint that had been forwarded through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The complaint alleged a mid-Missouri man was contacting children over the internet and attempting to persuade them to meet for sexual purposes.

As a result of the complaint, a Boone County Sheriff's Detective assigned to the case posed as a 13-year-old girl on the same internet site Coleman had reportedly been using. Almost immediately the decoy child was contacted by Coleman and over a period of time Coleman continuously encouraged, enticed, and persuaded the child to meet him for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct.

Coleman also engaged in telephone conversations with the decoy child. Consequently, the Internet transmissions and telephone calls were traced to Coleman's residence and linked directly to him.

As a result of the investigation, charges were filed in Boone County Circuit Court and Coleman was charged with one count of Enticement of a Child. This investigation is continuing in an effort to identify other children Coleman may have also contacted over the Internet.