LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas — Liberty County may not deal with as much crime as some other areas in Texas but online threats have no boundaries.
Brandi Kelley said she believes a much older man purposely targeted her 15-year-old on Facebook.
"He told her that she was cute," Kelley said.
Kelley agreed to speak with KHOU 11 News about what happened next.
"He met the right lady on the wrong day," she said.
She shared the direct messages she exchanged with 34-year-old Justin Lacy while she was posing as her teenage daughter.
"Haha I’m twice your age," Lacy wrote in one message.
She replied that she’s glad a more mature person thinks she’s cute.
"Really cute actually," he replied. "How old are you?"
"15," she answered, followed by emojis.
"I mean unless you’re into older guys haha," he responded.
Kelley said she knows that not all parents would do what she did next.
"Not all, but this one will," she said.
She was waiting outside when Lacy showed up at her house. He left but was later charged by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office with online solicitation of a minor, a third-degree felony.
"I think that’s he done this before and think he would’ve done it again had nothing been done," Kelley said.
Both she and investigators commended her daughter for reporting the initial contact.
"If something doesn’t look right, if something is a red flag, tell somebody," Kelley said. "Say something."
LCSO Capt. David Meyers said anyone else who’s had similar encounters with Lacy should come forward. Lacy was released on a $50,000 bond. He lives in Polk County, according to court records.
Here's the initial release from the Liberty County Sheriff's Office:
On April 24, 2023, The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office received a call for service where it was alleged that a 34-year-old adult male was using social media (Facebook) and text messaging with a cell phone to contact a 15-year-old juvenile female. During the initial investigation it was learned that upon the adult male arriving at the residence on County Road 2196, in the Cleveland area, the mother of the 15-year-old juvenile began chasing the adult male in her vehicle leaving Liberty County on Highway 59 N and into San Jacinto County. Upon the mother returning home at 11:44pm, she called the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office to report the alleged incident. A patrol Deputy went to the residence and took the information for the report. According to Captain David Meyers a spokesperson for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, the Criminal Investigation Division was notified about the incident during the early hours of April 25, 2023, and began gathering more information from the juvenile female’s cell phone. Based on the information obtained from the juvenile’s cell phone, enough probable cause was present to obtain a warrant on the male suspect, Justin Wayne Lacy of Polk County, for Online Solicitation of a Minor, a third-degree Felony. Investigators with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office upon the warrant being signed by a Liberty County Judge, went to a shop believed to be owned by Lacy in Livingston, Polk County where he was arrested and transported back to Liberty County Jail without incident. According to Captain Meyers, Investigators are continuing to gather more information about this incident.