A Kentucky man was sentenced in federal court yesterday for traveling to Missouri for illicit sex with a 15-year-old girl.  He was also changed with attempting to entice a second child victim for sex.

Saint Joseph police and the FBI investigated.

53 year old Marvin Herren of Owensboro, Kentucky,  was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Herren to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration.

Herren admitted traveling to Missouri with the intent to engage in illicit sex with a minor and to attempting to use the Internet to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Herren initially contacted the child victim through social media on March 1, 2014. After a few days of communicating through social media, Herren began asking her questions of a sexual nature and they exchanged nude photos of themselves.

Herren drove from Kentucky to Missouri and met the girl and her friend at a restaurant near her high school. He drove them back to the high school, at which time her friend left them. Herren parked near the school and he and the girl engaged in illicit sexual activity in the back seat of his car.

In May 2014, while investigating allegations by the first girl, an FBI special agent assumed an undercover identity on Facebook of a female named “Jenny.” Although Herren was aware of the federal investigation related to the first girl, he began communicating with the undercover agent.

Herren made arrangements to meet “Jenny” at a Kansas City, Mo., restaurant. When he arrived at approximately midnight on Jan. 23, 2015, he was placed under arrest.