The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says a Sparks man has been sentenced to four years in prison in connection with an internet sting operation against sex trafficking and child exploration crimes in Washoe County. 

Joshua Andrew Hulet, 39 pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of Soliciting a Child for Prostitution and one count of Attempted Abuse or Neglect of a Child Involving Sexual Exploitation.

Hulet was charged with having solicited an undercover Human Exploitation And Trafficking (HEAT) detective posing as a 17-year-old female and arranged a meeting to pay for sex.

During this same time, Hulet was discovered to have been soliciting numerous other females over Facebook, two of which were later identified by HEAT detectives to be juvenile females aged 15 and 17, respectively. Ultimately, Hulet was arrested before he could victimize a real child

At Hulet’s sentencing hearing, DDA Cameron argued that the defendant’s conduct in recruiting and soliciting several juveniles to engage in prostitution put the children of this community at incredible risk and warranted a term of imprisonment.

(Washoe County District Attorney's Office)