JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former state legislative aide has been sentenced to five years in prison for soliciting sex from someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Twenty-five-year-old Carter Clinton Ballman was sentenced Friday for attempted receipt of child pornography. He will serve five years on federal supervision after his release.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports Ballmann was arrested as part of a Boone County child predator sting. He responded to a cell phone message posted by an undercover investigator posing as a teenager.

Investigators also uncovered various Columbia Middle School hours and honor rolls during the time Ballman was communicating with the decoy.

He was arrested April 17 at the Missouri Capitol.

Ballman was a legislative assistant to Rep. Mark Matthiesen, a Republican from Maryland Heights. Ballmann was fired shortly after his arrest.