Texas man arrested after traveling to Utah to meet with undercover officer posing as minor

LEHI, Utah (ABC4) — A Texas man is behind bars after traveling to Utah to meet with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl to sexually abuse her. Instead, he was met with police officers and arrested.

54-year-old Kevin Michael Dilkes of Magnolia, Texas, was arrested for attempted rape of a child, attempted sodomy on a child, attempted sexual abuse of a child, enticement of a minor, and dealing in materials harmful to a minor. He has not been formally charged yet.

According to the arrest statement, a detective with the Lehi Police Department was performing an undercover investigation as a 13-year-old girl. While on an online chat platform, a user later identified as Dilkes made contact with the officer.

During the initial conversation between Dilkes and the undercover detective, it was made clear that the child was only 13 years old, but this did “not dissuade” him from speaking with the child, documents say.

Dilkes allegedly told who he believed to be a minor that he wanted to meet with her and engage in sexual relations. The 54-year-old asked the child about birth control and discussed how he wanted to sexually abuse the underage child.

Throughout the messages between Dilkes and the undercover detective, Dilkes continuously made sexual references and even sent naked photos of adults to describe sexual acts. The detective made it clear that the child was underage at several points.

The weeks-long investigation culminated when Dilkes allegedly traveled to Utah to meet with the 13-year-old child. He told the detective that he had arrived in Utah from Texas, and was going grocery shopping.

On Oct. 19, Dilkes made plans to meet with the underage girl after her mother left for work. When he arrived at the meeting location, officers took him into custody.

During an interview with Dilkes, the arrest statement says he admitted that “if the child ‘pushed’ enough that he likely would have engaged in sexual activity with her.” He also said that he knew the child wanted to meet with an older person, and said the he “felt it was good that it was him because there are other people out there with bad intentions.”

A search warrant was served on Dilkes’ hotel room, and detectives located Plan B pills, lubricant, and items that the child had asked for. The 54-year-old allegedly admitted to police that what he did was wrong.

Dilkes was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail, where he is being held without bail.