Anderson man sentenced to 8 years for child solicitation

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
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Apr. 15—ANDERSON — Anthony Ray Christy was sentenced Friday to a four-year prison sentence on charges of child solicitation.

Christy, 56, 2000 block of West 25th Street, last month entered guilty pleas in Madison Circuit Court Division 6 to two counts of child solicitation and one count of possession of child pornography.

Madison Circuit Court Division 6 Judge Mark Dudley sentenced Christy to eight years with four to be served and the remainder suspended to formal probation.

Judge Dudley found Christy to be a sexually violent predator and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.

Christy was arrested in December following an investigation by the Hamilton County Metro Child Exploitation Task Force.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Tyler Mitchell, a member of the Westfield Police Department, he received a report in September from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Christy, a registered sex offender, was looking for 14-year-old children in an internet chat room.

The court document states that Christy was chatting with what he believed to be a high school freshman, asking sexual questions.

Detective Mitchell also found another website where Christy posted and had a conversation with a member of a "predator catcher" group claiming to be a 15-year-old girl.

Detectives went to Christy's residence on Dec. 4 and he admitted to using the websites, but not for six months.

He admitted to receiving a photo of a 15-year-old girl and admitted to chatting with her.

Christy said his sexual interest in children was the "monster" inside him.

A search of two cellphones found 50 instances in which Christy was visiting the websites.

The search of the cellphone found three photos of children under the age of 12 involved in sexual activities.

The state's case was presented by deputy prosecutor Dan Kopp, and Christy was represented by Thomas Godfrey.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.