KENT COUNTY, MI -- A Sparta Village councilman arrested late last month was caught in what often is referred as an online 'predator' sting.
Ryan James Hayes, who was appointed to the Sparta Village Council in February, is charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes, a four-year felony: and using computers against the Children's Protection Registry Act, a one-year misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause affidavit in his court file, the 34-year-old Hayes initiated a texting conversation with an "online covert employee" of the Kent County Sheriff's Department.
During the conversation, he was told he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl named "Liv."
"During the first day of communication, Hayes steered the conversation to sexual topics and discussed meeting "Liv" for a date that would include sex."
Police said they continued the conversations over two weeks and a meeting was planned where "sexual contact" would happen.
Hayes was arrested when he showed up at the location, Huff Park.