Man convicted of child enticement

A Washington man will serve 10 years in prison with parole eligibility after two years after being convicted of enticing a child through the internet.

Andrew Paul Hanson, 60, of Deer Meadows, was sentenced Monday by Senior District Judge Rich Christensen.

The charge stems from conduct that spanned between September and October of 2024 and culminated with Hanson enticing who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl to meet with him to engage in sexual activity, according to a press release from the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

In September of 2024, the girl’s mother posted a toy desk for sale on Facebook Marketplace with her daughter in the picture. Hanson messaged the mother’s Facebook account and, despite being almost immediately informed he was talking to a 15-year-old girl, asked for pictures of the mother and the girl, the release said.

Concerned that Hanson was a potential child predator, the mother alerted law enforcement and an investigation was launched. 

During the investigation, officers used a “burner phone” to pose as the daughter and reinitiate contact with Hanson, the release said. Hanson asked for pictures of who he believed to be the 15-year-old girl before sending an explicit picture of himself, the release said.

Over the next several weeks Hanson sent numerous explicit pictures and videos of himself.

In October, Hanson suggested the two meet in person for sex, court records say. Police arrested him in Coeur d’Alene, near Lake City High School, while he was on the way to the meetup location. 

Enticing a child through the internet is a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.