Indiana man, 70, nabbed in child sex sting on ‘Takedown with Chris Hansen’ gets probation

Credit: TruBlu

Credit: TruBlu

A 70-year-old Indiana man was sentenced Wednesday to five years of “intensive” probation following his arrest in March as part of a child sex sting joined by television journalist Chris Hansen and his show “Takedown with Chris Hansen.”

Donnie Coy Vaughn pleaded guilty May 16 to importuning in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court after he traveled about 100 miles from New Palestine, Indiana, to Vandalia. As part of his plea a charge of possession of criminal tools was dropped.

He was sentenced to five years of “intensive community control sanctions” plus 40 more days in jail until he is picked up by Indiana authorities, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Vaughn has been held in the Montgomery County Jail since March 29, when he arrived at a sting house used in the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office operation.

His arrest was featured in the first episode of the fourth season of Hansen’s show available for streaming on TruBlu.

“We have an older gentleman coming from out of state to meet a 43-year-old dad and his 13-year-old daughter and to engage in sex acts with both of them,” sheriff’s Capt. Terry Ables told Hansen of Vaughn’s plans based on the chat sessions.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

In the episode, Vaughn arrived with a milkshake for the young teen and shook hands with the undercover detective posing as the female decoy’s father. He appeared at ease while taking off his jacket, sitting on a leather couch and patting the seat next to him for the girl and making small talk with the pair at the house used for the operation.

Once other task force detectives revealed themselves, Vaughn was handcuffed and interviewed. He then agreed to sit and talk with Hansen.

In addition to the jail time and probation, Vaughn was designated a Tier I sex offender, which requires him to register his address every year for 15 years.

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