ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A 43-year-old St. Johns County man was arrested Tuesday on charges of soliciting sex from a minor, traveling to meet a minor for sex and 16 counts of transmitting harmful materials to a minor.
Jon Christopher Stoune appeared in court Wednesday and was appointed a public defender. His bond was set at $600,000, and the judge ordered that he can not have any contact with minors after he's released. He was also ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device once released.
According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the investigation into Stoune began last month when cyber crimes detectives with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office began communicating online with an undercover detective posing as a 14-year old girl when Stoune turned the conversation sexual and began sending nude images of himself.
Detectives said they identified Stoune as the suspect and continued to gather evidence against him. On Tuesday, Stoune went to the St. Augustine Beach Pier with the intent to meet the child to have sex with her in the area of the St. Augustine Beach Pier.
"What he found was the undercover detective who is not a 14-year-old female and not what he expected," Commander Chuck Mulligan, of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, said.
With assistance from officers with the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, Stoune was arrested without incident. Detectives said that Stoune had several sex toys in his possession when he was taken into custody.
People in Stoune's neighborhood, who said he lived with a wife and children, were shocked to hear what happened.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I'm in shock. I'm really in shock. Makes me a little nervous. My house and my yard are probably attached to that area," Mandy Barrow, a local neighbor said.
Stoune was booked into the St. Johns County Jail and will have a first appearance before a judge on Wednesday morning.