Ashton man arrested for enticing a child on the internet
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IDAHO FALLS – A 27-year-old man charged with felony enticing a child through the internet made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon.
Police reports show Dacoda Kent Phelps of Ashton was arrested in January.
An undercover officer working with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force came across Phelps on Nov. 30 while posing as a 14-year-old boy on the Grindr dating app, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Phelps allegedly sent the officer five sexually explicit photos of himself in his initial message.
The officer responded that he wasn’t 18 yet but that “he was really mature for his age.” Phelps then inquired how old he was and learning he was 14, sent a photo of himself with an invitation to message on Snapchat.
The conversation continued on Snapchat with Phelps allegedly asking the officer if he wanted to trade any pictures. Phelps told him he worked as an underground miner drilling and blasting hard rock.
“This was followed by a shirtless photo of Phelps in a miner’s helmet. There were other photos, including one of him holding a large wrench,” the officer writes in his report. “Phelps asked me again for photos of myself saying that he wanted to see my body.”
Phelps allegedly became more explicit in his requests, to which the officer did not respond.
Upon further investigation, the officer discovered Phelps had a misdemeanor warrant from Nez Perce County on a DUI charge. He also had a warrant in Fremont County for failure to appear at a hearing for DUI, possession of a controlled substance and distribution of alcohol to a minor.
He was able to track down Phelp’s address through a license plate number on a vehicle he is known to drive.
The officer, posing as a teenager, reached out to Phelps again on Dec. 8 through Grindr. A few hours later, Phelps responded by asking for selfies.
“I told him I’m too scared, too young to send nudes,” the officer told him.
Phelps responded the following day with the words, “Yeah i think it’ll be okay if we delete them right after.”
Phelps was arrested on Jan. 14 and booked in the Bonneville County Jail on $20,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 22.