Man jailed for sending sexually explicit photos to Bellmead undercover officer posing as girl

WACO, TX (KWTX) – A 34-year-old Cleburne man was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for sending illegal photos to an undercover officer who he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

Judge Thomas West of Waco’s 19th District Court sent Grady Lee Abshire to prison after Abshire pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

According to arrest records in the case, Bellmead police engaged in “inappropriate chatter” on a Facebook account belonging to Abshire in May 2019.

“The secret account featured a woman,” the arrest affidavit said. “The first message sent by the accused contained a sexual image of the male anatomy. During the conversation, the defendant was informed that the woman he was communicating with was 13 years old.

Abshir continued to send “additional inappropriate images of sexual acts,” the statement said.

The undercover agent asked Abshir to send his photos, which the affidavit claims matched Abshir’s driver’s license photo.

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