By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
A Yukon man has been sentenced to serve three years in state prison after being convicted of making lewd proposals to a child.
Daniel Allen Starks, 26, pleaded no contest to the felony charge at a Sept. 24th hearing before Canadian County Special Judge Khristan K. Strubhar.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Judge Strubhar gave Starks an 18-year suspended sentence except for the first three years to serve in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
Starks was given credit for time served at the Canadian County Jail, where he was booked June 18. He had faced up to 20 years in prison.
“Starks is a dangerous predator who needs to be in jail,” Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said after his arrest. “Our children are safer that he is off the streets and goes to my mission on protecting our kids from these monsters.”
Judge Strubhar ordered the convicted sex offender to be supervised by the state DOC while on probation after his release from prison.
An undercover investigation led prosecutors to formally charge Starks on June 29 with lewd/indecent proposals to child under 16.
This case was referred to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Internet Crimes Against Children Unit because Starks was engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl from Alva.
CHILD PREDATOR DETECTED
This case began with a citizen organization, MotorCity Justice, which detects child predators on the Internet and works with law enforcement.
MotorCity Justice provided CCSO screenshots of a conversation between their undercover investigator and Starks.
Stark reportedly told the “decoy” about allegedly raping a nine-year-old family member.
Starks told the decoy he was, at times, engaging in oral sex with a 12-year-old child while talking to the decoy.
He also asked the decoy if he could rape the young children the decoy was pretending to babysit.
Starks reportedly sent videos of himself masturbating and talked about sexual torture he wanted the decoy to perform on him.
