A Jefferson City man who drove to Columbia early this morning to pay a woman to have sex with her child instead met undercover detectives from agencies including the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force.
The force had been tipped that 29-year-old Jeremy Ryan Bappert was offering money for such a service and an undercover agent posing as a mother who would consent contacted him. During the investigation he sent the agent images of child pornography depicting a 9-year-old girl, in order to gain trust.
When Bappert was arrested his cell phone was recovered and found to have more than 20 images of pornography on it.
He was arrested for suspected distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, attempted statutory rape, attempted statutory sodomy and felony patronizing prostitution. Formal charges have not been filed.
