Two men were arrested on Easter after trying to meet with underage girls for sex in northeast Arkansas, authorities said.
The First Judicial District Drug Task Force said two undercover investigations resulted in the Sunday arrests of Kevin Waldrep, 24, of Wynne and Jason Lawrence, 35, of Forrest City.
Waldrep faces two counts of Internet stalking of a child, while Lawrence faces one count, records show.
Waldrep was communicating via social media with an undercover investigator he believed was a 14-year-old girl, according to a news release.
Throughout the conversations, Waldrep reportedly discussed having the teen move to Florida with him and have her finish high school in the state.
Waldrep also discussed being “boyfriend and girlfriend” or potentially “friends with bennies,” according to the task force.
Lawrence, meanwhile, was talking to an investigator he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, authorities said.
Authorities said Waldrep and Lawrence each sent nude photos of themselves to the undercover investigators.
According to the task force, Waldrep advised that he wanted to meet the 14-year-old and asked if she had a friend for his friend. The purported girl replied that she had a friend her same age.
Waldrep eventually drove with a friend from Wynne to a truck stop in St. Francis County, believing he would pick up the girls “for a night of sex and drugs at his place,” the release states.
While being arrested at the truck stop, Waldrep reportedly told officers: “You can’t be out here doing this to people.”
The “unwitting” friend was told that the girls were in their 20s and not underage, the task force said. He was not charged in the case.
Lawrence was arrested Sunday night near Broadway Cinema, 1101 E. Broadway Ave. in Forrest City, while trying to meet the 15-year-old. He told authorities that it was the second time he had tried to meet up with an underage girl.
