A Michigan man was sentenced to federal prison for trying to solicit sex from minors online.

William Sparks, 24, of Kalamazoo, will serve 16 years and 9 months behind bars followed by a lifetime of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced on Nov. 19. Sparks will be required to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

Sparks pleaded guilty in April to attempting to entice a child to engage in sexual activity via the internet. Police said the Kalamazoo man attempted to meet up with fictitious 11-year-old children for sex on two different occasions in May 2024.

In one incident, Sparks encountered an undercover FBI agent online who was posing as a father trafficking his 11-year-old daughter for sex. Sparks reportedly

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