Indianapolis Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Child Solicitation
FRANKLIN, Ind. — An Indianapolis man will spend six years in prison for his role in a 2024 child solicitation sting, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
25-year-old Zachary Deralus was sentenced Thursday in Johnson County after pleading guilty to Child Solicitation.
Deralus was among 22 men arrested for the child solicitation operation, which lasted multiple days last September. The court says Deralus traveled to Franklin to meet who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl, unaware that he had actually been communicating with an undercover detective.
Though Deralus was given an eight-year sentence, Judge Douglas Cummins ordered six of those years to be served in prison. The court says Deralus had a criminal past that started when he was 16 years old, which included an Armed Robbery conviction, and multiple probation violations. Deralus was on probation out of Marion County at the time he committed this crime in Johnson County.
“We are very pleased that Judge Cummins gave this defendant 6 years in prison,” Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said Friday. “I hope this criminal and others like him are picking up on the message that we’re sending which is to stay away from underage kids. We appreciate all the hard work of our law enforcement partners in protecting young people. This is how we keep our community safe.”
Indianapolis Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Child Solicitation was originally published on wibc.com
