POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Montana man will soon be brought to Polk County, Florida, to face charges after Sheriff Grady Judd said the man bragged about sexually abusing children as young as 8 to an undercover detective.

The suspect, Courtney Robert Stanhope, 39, of Baker, Montana, has been investigated in multiple states for similar allegations, but never faced jail time, according to the sheriff.

Judd said his deputies began investigating after Stanhope started communicating with an undercover Polk County detective who was posing as a 15-year-old on a chatting mobile app. The conversation lasted for over four hours and became "sexually charged" after Stanhope set the messages to automatically delete, officials said.

"He thought he was talking to a 15-year-old. He was grooming the 15

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