Man who tried to lure child receives maximum 4-10 year sentence

A man, who thought he was talking with a 15-year-old girl about meeting up for sex, is scheduled to be transferred to the Nevada Department of Corrections after he was sentenced to the maximum 4-10-year prison term for luring a child with the intent to engage in sex through the use of a computer.

Richard Patrick Fraser, 33, was messaging a girl on social media he knew was underage, according to her parents.

Fraser grew up in Carson Valley, according to his attorney.

The case began on Jan. 1 when the girl’s parents learned Fraser was contacting their daughter. They reported the contact to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. An investigator contacted Fraser posing as the girl and during an online exchange he sent a picture of his genitals to her and asked her to reciprocate.

At a bail hearing shortly after his Feb. 26 arrest, the girl’s parents asked that he be held in connection with the case. He’d been in custody for 179 days when he was sentenced on Aug. 23.

He admitted the charge on May 20.

That Fraser was going to prison was a foregone conclusion after a psycho-sexual evaluation found that he was at high risk to reoffend. Fraser is subject to lifetime sex offender registration after he is released from prison.

• A man facing a similar charge was granted probation on an underlying 2-5-year prison sentence on Tuesday.

Unlike Fraser, Matthew Ryan Hall was found not to be a high danger to reoffend.

Hall, 27, was off his medication for a couple of mental health conditions when he contacted someone he thought he was 13 years old. Attorney Mary Brown said that he had no convictions on his record when he and three other men were arrested in a sex trafficking sting March 30-31.

She said he had a lot of family and community support for the three years he’ll be on probation.

Prosecutor Ric Casper said he recognized it was a difficult case, saying the prosecution was unaware of Hall’s significant mental health issues.

“What jumps out is that he has some serious impulse control, at best,” Casper said.

“I understand the egregiousness of my actions,” he said. “They were absolutely disgusting and in no way acceptable no matter what the circumstances.”

• A Carson Valley youth soccer coach who is facing similar charges waived his preliminary hearing and is scheduled to appear in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday.

Valeriu Monchamp, 31, is accused of sending sexually explicit texts to a child under the age of 16 and asking for some in exchange with an undercover officer he thought was 14.

Monchamp could still deny the charges and seek a trial.