MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — A Madison man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for attempting to entice a person he believed was a 13-year-old girl into sending sexually explicit images and traveling to South Dakota for sex.
Lawrence Johnson, 51, was sentenced Aug. 31 by U.S. Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. Johnson will also serve five years of supervised release, pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and register as a sex offender following his release.
Johnson was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2024 and pleaded guilty June 1, 2026.
The case stemmed from an undercover online operation conducted by the Des Moines County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office from Sept. 15 through Oct. 10, 2024. Investigators posed online as minors to identify people seeking sexual activity or explicit material from children.
Authorities said Johnson communicated on Facebook with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl named “Abby.” Prosecutors said Johnson attempted to persuade the undercover persona to send nude images and travel to South Dakota to have sex with him.
After his arrest, Johnson admitted to investigators that he believed he had been communicating with a 13-year-old girl, according to prosecutors.
The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted it.
The prosecution was part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood.
Johnson was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.