An Anchorage man was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison after his conviction in July of last year on charges of two counts of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and two counts of attempted enticement of a minor, the  Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Danny Ray Lowe, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline in an Anchorage court and following his prison term, is subject to a lifetime of supervised release.

Court documents in the three-day jury trial in July of 2018 revealed that Lowe had been snared in a 2017 undercover operation when he responded to an online advertisement offering sex with minors.

Lowe opened a text conversation with the undercover FBI agent, and over a six-month period agreed to and negotiated a time, place, and price to have sex with two fictional girls, ages 13 and 14.

With an agreed upon price of $150, on September 12th, 2017, Lowe went to an Anchorage motel with condoms and strawberry-flavored lubricant to meet up with the girls. But, upon his arrival at the room, he was met not by the minors, but Anchorage police and FBI agents. He was promptly arrested.

After his arrest, Lowe confessed his crimes to the investigating detective and not knowing the minors were fictional, additionally penned a letter apologizing to the girls’ parents saying that he was “very sorry for offering money to have sex with your” daughter, it was revealed at trial.

In court, Lowe attempted to explain his intentions, saying he was going to the motel room to rescue the two girls and not to have paid sex with them. Judge Beistline said at sentencing that Lowe “had lied and knew, “deep down,” that he was guilty.”

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