A 39-year-old man, identified by police as Luke Larson, is behind bars in St. Ann after officers say he showed up to meet someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl he had been messaging online. Body-worn camera video of the traffic stop and interview shows Larson admitting the conversation turned explicit, and authorities say he is now facing multiple felony counts, including attempted enticement of a child and failure to register as a sex offender.
St. Ann Police Deputy Chief Blake Carrigan told investigators that a third-party group posed as the teenage girl on the MeetMe app and contacted police once the chats escalated. Messages reviewed by officers show the decoy telling the man she was 14 and him replying, “you don’t look that at all,” before the exchange shifted into explicit sexting and an apparent swap of nude photos. Police say he then drove more than an hour to St. Ann to pick up the person he thought was the girl, according to First Alert 4.
First Alert 4 obtained the bodycam footage of the interview, which captures the suspect telling officers, “Just normal flirty conversation, and then gave me her cell phone number, and it went to more explicit conversations.” When asked why he kept talking after the age disclosure, he responds, “I don’t know honestly,” and later adds, “I’m pissed off at myself because I’ve done well for a long time.” St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price-Smith told the station that the fact the “girl” was a decoy rather than an actual child does not change how the case is treated under Missouri law.
What the bodycam shows
The video moves back and forth between officers scrolling through message threads on a phone and questioning Larson about why he continued the conversation after the age of 14 was mentioned. He repeatedly tells police he does not know why the exchange escalated, while investigators say he tried to arrange an in-person meeting before he was taken into custody. The reporting also notes that Larson was convicted in 2010 of intent to solicit a minor online and was placed on five years of supervised probation in 2011.
Legal context
Under Missouri law, enticement of a child, as well as attempts to commit it, is a felony that can carry roughly five to 30 years in prison. The statute specifically states it is not a defense that the supposed child was actually a decoy, as set out in RSMo §566.151, detailed by Justia. Failure to register as a sex offender is addressed in RSMo sections 589.400–589.425 and can bring felony penalties depending on the offender’s tier and any prior violations, according to the state code in RSMo §589.400, published by the Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Prosecutors are expected to weigh those provisions as they review the evidence and decide how to formally charge the case.
Next steps and community advice
Larson is being held at the St. Louis County Jail on a $750,000 cash-only bond, according to authorities. Prosecutors say they will determine whether to file additional or formal charges after they finish reviewing digital evidence from the online chats and devices.
Assistant prosecuting attorney Jenna Joachimstaler and Prosecutor Price-Smith told the station that parents should keep tabs on the apps their children use and maintain open conversations about who they are talking to online. They stressed that quick check-ins about social media and messaging platforms can be an important layer of protection.
St. Ann police are asking anyone who may have relevant information or recordings to contact the department or the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. No further details were immediately released.
