Madison Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Madison, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet. The sentencing took place on August 31, 2026.

Lawrence Johnson, age 51, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Johnson must register as a sex offender upon release from federal prison.

Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2024 and pleaded guilty on June 1, 2026.

The conviction stemmed from an undercover chat operation conducted by the Des Moines County, Iowa, Sheriff's Office between September 15, 2024, and October 10, 2024, during which law enforcement posed online as underage child personas to catch individuals who seek sexual acts or sexually explicit materials from minors.

In Johnson's case, he was using his cell phone to access Facebook and befriended "Abby," an undercover law enforcement officer who told Johnson she was 13 years old. Throughout the conversation, Johnson attempted to convince "Abby" to send him nude images of herself and travel to South Dakota for the purpose of having sex with him. Johnson was arrested, and when interviewed by law enforcement, admitted his behavior and belief that "Abby" was a real 13-year-old girl from whom he was seeking sexually explicit images and sex.

This case was investigated by the Des Moines County Sheriff's Office, the South Dakota DCI, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Johnson was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.