A North Carolina man who got caught in a Virginia State Police sexual predator sting earlier this year pleaded guilty to five felony charges Thursday in Stafford Circuit Court.
Michael Joseph Hoeing, 47, of Wilson, N.C., was convicted of five counts of electronic solicitation of a minor. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 26 by Judge Michael Levy.
According to court records, state police were conducting an undercover online investigation on March 15. The purpose was to identify people who were soliciting minors for sex.
A special agent was pretending to be a 13-year-old girl named “Becky” when he contacted Hoeing in a chat room. Their conversation eventually transitioned to text-messaging.
During a series of online conversations, according to the evidence, Hoeing acknowledged the fake girl’s age several times while sending multiple images of his private parts and multiple videos of him performing a sex act.
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Police were able to trace the illegal activity to Hoeing and arrested him about a month later. Hoeing was interviewed and acknowledged it was him the special agent was communicating with.
