Burlington Man Arrested In Arizona, Accused Of Soliciting Teen For Sex

A man from Calhoun County is facing criminal charges in Arizona, after he’s accused of trying to have sex with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl.

MLive reports that 41-year-old Derek Guthrie of Burlington was arraigned in Mid-March in Maricopa County Arizona, on a charge of luring a minor for sexual exploitation. Between March 7 and 9, authorities say that Guthrie had been in communication with “Kayla”, who he thought was a 14-year-old girl, but was actually an undercover police officer.

He reportedly solicited the girl for sex multiple times, before asking the girl to come to meet him in Chandler, in suburban Phoenix. That’s when he was arrested at his hotel room March 9.

An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Guthrie on Friday, April 21 in Maricopa County Court; if he convicted of the felony charge, he could get 3 ½ years in prison.