Provo man charged with enticing a minor after messaging undercover officer, documents say

LEHI, Utah (ABC4) — A Provo man has been arrested and charged for allegedly speaking with an undercover officer whom he believed to be a mother about meeting with and sexually abusing her two young children.

Kenneth Christopher Barquero, 29, has been charged with six counts of enticing a minor with first-degree felony sexual activity.

According to court documents, an officer with the Lehi Police Department began posing as a mother with two young children on an online chat room. On Sept. 2, 2025, an adult man, later identified as Barquero, made contact with the account, asking about the children.

Through the conversation, the undercover officer stated that the mother had two daughters, five and eight years old. Barquero allegedly expressed interest in the children and asked the mother (undercover officer) if she had done anything to them. The conversation was moved to another application for more security.

Barquero reportedly began asking more questions about the children, and the mother (undercover officer) asked if he had any experience with children sexually. Documents say that he replied that he had “grown up” sexually abusing other children.

The conversations continued between the two, and eventually, a meet-up was arranged so that Barquero could sexually abuse the two fake children. They originally planned to meet at a hotel in Draper. He asked the mother to send a video of the hotel room before he arrived, but then Barquero did not show up, saying that he didn’t know if the mother was “legit.”

At this point, Barquero allegedly asked if the undercover officer was a cop and said, “You have to tell me now that I’ve asked, you know.” He then sent a message saying that he was “just roleplaying” and hoped that the mother did not actually do anything to the children.

On Sept. 9, Barquero made contact with the undercover officer again on the original chatroom and again began speaking about meeting with the mother to get to know each other over lunch and discuss the children. They planned to meet on Sept. 15.

When Barquero arrived at the meeting location on Sept. 15, he was taken into custody and interviewed by police. During the interview, he allegedly stated that he was “only roleplaying” and would never do anything to children.

Barquero was booked into the Utah County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail.