A 29-year-old Minot man pleaded guilty Friday to trying to lure a 14-year-old girl for sex last June.

Weston Dale Calvert fell for an online law enforcement sting operation. The girl he thought he was conversing with on Craigslist was actually a Ward County sheriff’s deputy.

Judge Richard L. Hagar ordered a pre-sentence investigation and said sentencing will be set for a later date. Calvert could face up to 10 years in prison for the Class B felony and will have to register as a sex offender. Hagar denied Calvert’s request to remain free on bond and ordered him jailed immediately. Calvert tearfully embraced people who appeared to be family members in the court room before he was taken into custody.

According to court documents, a sergeant with the Ward County Sheriff’s Office posted an ad on Craiglist.com on June 14, posing as a teenager. Calvert  responded to the ad on June 15 and told the undercover officer that he wanted to meet for sex, even after he was informed he was talking to a 14-year-old.

On June 20, he called the sheriff’s office and spoke to a female deputy to set up a meeting, but didn’t arrive. On June 22, Calvert texted the female deputy posing as the 14-year-old, said he wanted to meet and made excuses for why he didn’t show up the day before. He arranged to meet her at Oak Park in Minot. When Calvert showed up, law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s office placed Calvert under arrest. Calvert told the officer that he was at the park to “meet a 14-year-old girl and tell her that she shouldn’t be meeting people from Craigslist.”

– Andrea Johnson