FARMINGTON, Utah, June 9, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Farmington man is facing a charge of enticing a minor by Internet or text, a second-degree felony, after he allegedly arranged a meeting with an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old boy.
Nicholas Lorenz Farni, 28, was arrested Thursday, according to a probable cause statement from the Second District Court of Farmington.
While conducting an online undercover operation, an agent from the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force began communicating on June 6 with an unknown male via a chat application, the probable cause statement said. The agent’s online undercover profile was a 13-year-old male.
“The undercover agent continued to chat with the suspect, later identified as Nicholas Lorenz Farni, using the chat application,” the statement said. “Nicholas made arrangements via the chat application to meet with what he believed to be the 13-year-old male. Nicholas arrived at the arranged meeting location in Davis County and sent a message stating that he was in the Smith’s store.”
Agents went inside the store and identified Farni in the store from a picture that he had sent in a separate chat application. The suspect left the store and was in the parking lot when he was taken into custody.
During an interview after being read his Miranda rights, Farni admitted to engaging in prior conversations about sexual acts with what he believed to be the 13-year-old male and said that he did travel to meet with that male. According to the suspect, he stated that during earlier communications with the “13-year-old male” he made statements about engaging in sexual acts with said minor.
Farni was transported to Davis County Jail with his bail set at $10,000.
