Jefferson County Man Guilty of Soliciting Nude Pictures of Undercover Officer Posing as Teen Boy

(St. Louis) A Jefferson County man admitted Tuesday to soliciting nude pictures from an undercover St. Louis County police officer pretending to be a 16-year-old.

77-year-old Robert L. Payne of Fenton pleaded guilty to the federal felony of solicitation of child pornography.

Payne admitted he repeatedly tried to talk to boys at Fenton City Park on Williams Road and that his behavior sparked complaints to police.

Police spotted Payne at the park each day between March 1st and 4th of last year.

On March 2nd, Payne repositioned his vehicle in the park about eighteen times, including backing into a space to allow him to watch the Lindbergh High School boys’ lacrosse team practice.

The next day Payne tried to engage about ten to twelve teen boys in conversation near the basketball courts.

On March 8th, an officer pretending to be a 16-year-old played basketball at the park and then used a trash can near Payne who was sitting in his parked vehicle.

Payne began talking to the officer, offered to perform oral sex on him and gave the officer his contact information.

Payne later contacted the officer and repeatedly offered to engage in sex acts with him before requesting a picture of the purported teen’s genitals.

Payne will be sentenced in November and he could receive between 5 to 20 years in prison.

As part of his plea, Payne also admitted that in 2018, the Sunset Hills Police Department investigated him over allegations that he’d approached a 16-year-old male at Minnie Ha Ha Park and offered to perform oral sex on him.

Payne later pleaded guilty to a harassment charge and was ordered to stay away from the park.

Newsletter