Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of Children

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A 28-year-old Missoula man convicted of chatting online and arranging a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Associated Press reports Shane Maxey was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison with 10 suspended on two counts of sexual abuse of children.

Maxey was arrested outside a grocery store when he arrived for the pre-arranged meeting with the "girl," with whom he had been chatting online for three months.

Maxey's attorney, Myshell Uhl, sought a suspended sentence, arguing that her client's offense "wasn't a hands-on crime." She said he hoped to resume his studies at the University of Montana.

Prosecutors argued that even after Maxey's May 2011 arrest, he went back online and tried something similar.