Police: Man caught in child prostitution sting
Jul. 21—ASHLAND — Ashland Police busted an Ashland man this week after he agreed to pay $2,000 to rape a child, court records show.
According to a criminal citation, Anthony C. Smith reached out to an online profile advertising the services of a sex worker on Tuesday. Smith asked the prostitute if she could provide a child for sex, court records show.
It turns out the 29-year-old man was speaking to an undercover officer, court records show.
On Wednesday, the undercover made a phone call, posing as the mother of the fictitious child victim, records show. During the conversation, Smith asked the "mother" to dress her 12-year-old child in a bikini and allow him to rape the girl, court records show.
He offered $2,000 for the "child" and the "mother" to stay over at his home, the citation states.
On Thursday, Smith and the undercover officer arranged to meet up — court records show that's when officers from multiple agencies swooped in and took the suspect into custody.
During an interview with Ashland Police, court records show Smith admitted to being a pedophile but said he had never acted out on his sexual attraction toward children. The citation further states he said he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he thought the mother and the daughter wouldn't show up.
Smith was charged with attempted human trafficking of a person under 18 years of age and use of an electronic device to procure a minor for sexual activity.
If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison on the trafficking charge and up to five years in prison on the computer charge. Smith is being held at the Boyd County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
