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A Jefferson County jury convicted a Georgia man of traveling to Colorado to meet a teen girl he lured over the Internet for sex, arriving in the Denver area only to find the girl was really an undercover officer.
James Lee Pierce, 52, was found guilty Wednesday of four counts, including attempted child sex assault and Internet luring of a child with intent to exploit. Pierce was convicted after a two-day trial.
In December 2013, a Jefferson County investigator posing as a teen girl online was contacted by Pierce on a social networking site. Pierce and the investigator communicated for three months, during which officials say the conversation became “sexually graphic.”
“According to the arrest affidavit, in addition to the sexually graphic language, Pierce asked the person he believed to be an underage teen to send him naked pictures,” the county’s district attorney’s office said. “He also sent sexually graphic photos of himself to the purported underage teen.”
Last March, Pierce told the investigator he was going to take a bus from his home in Rome, Ga., to meet her in Colorado for sex. Pierce also said he planned to bring the teen back east with him.
Court documents show Pierce borrowed money from family members to buy the bus ticket.
Pierce was arrested in April when he arrived in Jefferson County.
Officials found Pierce had been convicted of a child sex offense in Georgia and at the time of his Colorado arrest was wearing an ankle monitor because he was on probation.
Pierce is to be sentenced April 13.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
