2 Las Vegas men caught in Arizona sex sting sent to prison

Two Las Vegas residents have been sent to prison after being ensnared in an undercover law enforcement operation in Arizona targeting men who prey upon minors for sex.

Kevin Moninger, 63, Durrel Shaw, 33, and six northwest Arizona men were indicted following sexually oriented communication with a Mohave County sheriff’s detective posing as a 13-year-old named “Sabrina.”

Prosecutor Greg McPhillips said each of the defendants responded to social media posts before the detective directed the conversation to text messages.

McPhillips said Moninger exchanged more than 1,200 messages over several months before driving to Kingman to have sex with Sabrina at a motel on Oct. 5, 2018. Shaw was also intercepted by officers during an attempted assignation the same day.

Judge Billy Sipe told Shaw at his sentencing Friday that he didn’t believe his claim that he traveled to Kingman to help a homeless and hungry kid. Sipe told Shaw the content of his text messages reflected sexual motivation.

“You thought you were coming here to have sex with a 13-year-old child,” the judge said.

He imposed an 8-year prison term and lifetime probation for Shaw, who pleaded guilty to attempted sexual conduct with a minor and luring a minor under the age of 15 for sexual exploitation.

A jury convicted Moninger of attempted sexual conduct with a minor and three luring counts. Judge Derek Carlisle ordered a 31-year prison term and lifetime probation at Moninger’s sentencing hearing last month.