Sacramento man gets 16 years after FBI sting busts him trying to arrange child assault

A Sacramento man was sentenced Thursday to 16 years, 8 months in prison for attempted enticement of a child into illegal sexual activity, the U.S. attorney’s office announced.

Kevin Joseph Martin, 44, was arrested in 2017 after he spent more than a month exchanging texts and instant messages with an undercover FBI agent posing as a pedophile, according to court documents.

In chats between March and April 2017, Martin “discussed with the undercover agent various ways to sexually assault the 11-year-old daughter that the undercover agent claimed to have,” according to a Department of Justice news release.

When Martin met the undercover agent in a parking lot with the intent of assaulting the 11-year-old, he was arrested by law enforcement.

Martin was sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge to 16 years and 8 months in prison, required supervision for life and a penalty of $5,000 for his crimes.

The Department of Justice in its news release said the case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006.