A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison and lifetime probation for making online arrangements to have sex with children, authorities said.

In 2022, Edmon Yohannes  contacted a profile on Grindr belonging to an undercover Chandler police detective. The undercover profile stated he was a father.

The conversation was moved to a messaging app called Kik. Once on Kik, Yohannes told the detective “he was into younger teens and preteens,” according to a release from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

 Yohannes asked the ages of the undercover detective’s children and if he could meet them for sex, the release stated.

“He agreed to buy stuffed animals for a 5-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl in return for sex. Yohannes then sent the detective pictures of the stuffed animals he was buying.”

When Yohannes showed up for the arranged meeting, he brought with him the toys depicted in the photo, according to MCAO.

 A jury convicted him of two counts of child sex trafficking and two counts of attempt to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

“Thank heaven this was an undercover detective rather than two actual children because Yohannes’ actions show he was ready and willing to victimize them,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.