The Court sentenced Leighty to three years in prison, subject to the provisions of the 120-day Sexual Offender Assessment program in the Missouri Department of Corrections. If Leighty successfully completes his 120-day incarceration and assessment, he can be placed on probation for up to five years.
Criminals convicted of child enticement in Missouri now face a minimum five-year prison sentence as a result of legislation Zahnd helped write. The minimum sentence became law in 2006 as part of Missouri’s version of “Jessica’s Law.”

Governor Matt Blunt signed Jessica’s Law in a ceremony in Platte County in June 2005. Blunt singled out Platte County’s Cyber Crimes Unit as a model in apprehending and prosecuting Internet predators during the signing ceremony.

Leighty admitted that he used the Internet to solicit sex in July 2005 from someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The “girl” was actually a Cyber Crimes detective with the Platte County Sheriff’s Department.

According to Zahnd, Leighty asked about the girl’s sexual experience during an Internet chat and offered to buy her clothes in exchange for a sexual favor.

Leighty was arrested when he arrived at an undercover location in Platte County where he believed he would meet the girl for sex.

Leighty had been an officer with the Warrensburg Police Department and a deputy with the Benton County Sheriff’s Department. He had resigned from law enforcement several years prior to the 2005 crime.

During the sentencing hearing, Leighty’s attorney, John P. O’Connor, compared the case to a recent Jackson County statutory rape case where O’Connor represented a former sheriff’s deputy who received probation. O’Connor implied that it would be unfair to sentence Leighty to prison when someone who had actually had sex with a child received probation.

Platte County Sheriff Richard Anderson said, “Our cyber crimes detectives will continue to work to protect children from dangers lurking on the Web. We want Internet predators to wonder every time they are on the Internet whether their intended victim might actually be a law enforcement officer coming to lock them up.”

The case was investigated by detectives from the Platte County Sheriff’s Department assigned to the county’s Cyber Crimes Unit, with the assistance of the Lee’s Summit Police Department. It was prosecuted by Robin Threlkeld, who is the assistant prosecutor in Zahnd’s office assigned to the Cyber Crimes Unit.

Eric G. Zahnd
Platte County Prosecuting Attorney
415 Third Street
Suite 60
Platte City, Missouri  64079
(816) 858-3476
(816) 858-3472 (fax)
ezahnd@co.platte.mo.us