A Starbuck man is accused of asking a child for sex over the internet.  

The Pope County Sheriff’s Office, in a news release dated October 7, stated that Jay Lamere, 41, of Starbuck, appeared in court last week on a charge of Engaging  Electronic Communication Relating or Describing Sexual Conduct with a Child, and a charge of Distributing via Electronic Communication, materials that Relate/Describes Sexual conduct with a child.  He was released without bail, it was stated.

He was arrested at his residence, without incident after a six-week investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.      

According to the Sheriff’s office, Lamere reached out using social media and spoke with an undercover Pope County Deputy, who Lamere believed to be a child, allegedly described sexual conduct and solicited the child to engage in sexual conduct. Lamere then allegedly distributed child pornographic material which depicted sexual conduct, the news release stated. 

The Sheriff’s Office encourages parents and caregivers to monitor who their children are communicating with online. If anyone believes a child is being victimized online, they are encouraged to report it to local law enforcement.

The Pope County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in this investigation by the Minnesota BCA Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.