FAYETTE COUNTY — A 23-year-old Vandalia man was sentenced Tuesday in Fayette County Court to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges brought about following an operation by a group called KTS Predator Hunters.

Christopher Cox pleaded guilty Tuesday to Class 2 felony indecent solicitation of a child with the intent of committing criminal sexual assault and Class 4 felony grooming

Cox reportedly used Facebook Messenger to send sexually explicit pictures and messages to seduce a person he believed to be a child, and that he went to the Walmart store in Highland to meet that child to commit criminal sexual abuse.

However, KTS Predator Hunters set up the sting in a situation much like the televised programs designed to catch child sex predators. When Cox arrived at the store, law enforcement was waiting for him and he was taken into custody.

The Fayette County State’s Attorney’s Office says convictions such as Cox’s would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of law enforcement officers and concerned citizens, such as the KTS Predator Hunters.

Last month a 27-year-old Jacksonville man, Kyle Upchurch, was sentenced to five years in prison on a conviction that came from a similar operation by KTS Predator Hunters that was live-streamed on social media.