Indiana man sentenced to 32 years in jail after trying to meet 14-year-old for sex

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ind. (WAVE) - A man who was caught trying to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex nearly two years ago was sentenced on May 23 to the maximum 32 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections, Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter confirmed.

58-year-old Rick Deck of Kokomo was convicted of child solicitation and attempted sexual misconduct with a child in Jefferson Circuit Court last month.

Deck was arrested in September 2020 after chatting online with a Madison police officer he thought was a 14-year-old girl. For more than a week, Deck had sexual conversations with the undercover officer on the bogus account, detailed the sexual things he wanted to do to the girl for many days at a time and claiming he “liked little girls,” while frequently adding that he was aware of the fake teen’s age.

Deck told the undercover officer he planned to go to Madison “to engage in sexual intercourse with the profile,” and on Oct. 9, 2020, they planned to meet at the Broadway Fountain. At the fountain, Deck began a conversation with a woman who later revealed herself to be the undercover police officer. When investigators searched Deck’s car after he was arrested, they discovered a sex toy that was similar to one that he had described in a text message.

After his sentencing on April 28, Deck said that this was not his first time attempting to sexually abuse a child.

Sutter said he was satisfied with the penalty that was handed down.

“It will take a sexual predator off the streets for many, many years and it means Mr. Deck will not have the opportunity to harm children during his time in prison,” Sutter said in a statement. “I believe the sentence was appropriate for the crime.”

Deck has a significant criminal history that spans two decades and includes a number of felony convictions for trafficking methamphetamine, burglary, robbery, and possession of an altered handgun.