LAREDO, Texas - A 41-year-old man has been sent to federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor.

Robert Steven Lanier pleaded guilty March 6.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo sentenced Lanier to 151 months in federal prison. In handing down the prison term, the court noted Lanier expressed a proclivity for children and commented on how he left his home twice-while caring for his own minor children-to go engage in sexual acts with a 12-year-old child. Lanier was further ordered to serve 15 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Lanier will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

Authorities identified Lanier in 2025 when conducting investigations into a Kik chatroom. Kik is a messaging app that, like many similar apps, is often exploited by predators to get access to children.

Lanier had been communicating with someone he believed to be the father of a 12-year-old minor female. In those conversations, he expressed interest in engaging in sexual activities with the child.

He had also mentioned how he preferred children under the age of 16, considered child pornography to be "window shopping," and wanted to be the child's "sugar daddy." He expressed the desire to meet the minor and described all the sexual acts he wanted to conduct with her.

On March 18, Lanier arrived at a gas station where he intended to have sexual relations with the minor in his car. Law enforcement took him into custody upon his arrival.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

FBI conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ's PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.