FARGO - A Middle River, Minn., man faces up to 30 years in prison after contacting a 13-year-old girl over Facebook and arranging to have sex with her.
Darrin Roy Anderson, 35, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Fargo's U.S. District Court to a federal charge of travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
According to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office:
Anderson traveled from Walhalla, N.D., where he worked at the time, to East Grand Forks, Minn., in order to have sex with a 13-year-old girl in exchange for $300.
Anderson, using the alias Tyler Anderson, created a Facebook account and used the fictitious identity to contact the girl.
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Eventually, the fictitious Tyler Anderson introduced the victim to his "cousin" Darrin Anderson online.
Darrin Anderson, then using his real identity, began texting the victim and offered to pay her cash in exchange for sexual favors.
Ultimately, Anderson traveled to East Grand Forks to have sex with the 13-year-old victim.
Shortly after, the incident was reported to the East Grand Forks Police Department.
Law enforcement interviewed the victim, who told the officers about how she met Anderson online.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for Tyler Anderson's Facebook profile and chats.
According to information provided by Facebook, Darrin Anderson used the false identity and engaged in hundreds of private chats with adolescent girls unknown to him.
In one instance, he revealed to a young female that he was not Tyler, but that his real name was Darrin Anderson.
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A sentencing hearing for Anderson has been scheduled for May 2 in Fargo.
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