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Former Disney actor Stoney Westmoreland was sentenced to two years in federal prison for attempting to lure a minor into sex and using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor following an arrest in 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Westmoreland, 52, initially faced 10 years behind bars on six separate counts, but was cleared to plead lesser charges. He was arrested in December 2018 for allegedly trying to arrange to have sex with a 13-year-old boy.
Stoney Westmoreland will serve two years in federal prison for sex crimes with a minor. The former Disney star attended the premiere of Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm’s ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ at the El Capitan Theater on May 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
(Fraser Harrison)
The former “Andi Mack” star also received 10 years of probation and must register as a sex offender, according to Deadline.
His electronic devices will be subject to random searches and inspections, and he is required to report all electronic communication accounts, including email and social media IDs.
EX DISNEY CHANNEL ACTOR STONEY WESTMORELAND CHARGED WITH SIX COUNTS FOR TRYING TO LURE MINOR FOR SEX
Contact with persons under the age of 18 and without adult supervision is also prohibited.
The actor was originally arrested on Dec. 13, 2018. He was using the dating app Grindr when he found a profile that appeared to be of an underage boy, but was actually being tapped by detectives in Salt Lake City. where his Disney show was. to be filmed.
Westmoreland took a car from a ride-sharing app to meet the boy, so they could return to his hotel room, authorities said at the time.
He had previously sent explicit photos and requested nude photos in return, authorities said.
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Westmoreland admitted to police that he sent nude photos and knew the person he was talking to said he was 13, according to charging documents.
A Westmoreland attorney told Fox News Digital that his client believed he was actually talking to an adult.
“Mr. Westmoreland maintains that he thought the person he was talking to was likely an adult involved in role-playing,” Westmoreland’s attorney Wendy Lewis said. “If there had been a real miner there when he arrived, he would have left.”
Lewis went on to say that Westmoreland had been evaluated by Dr. Fred Berlin of the Johns Hopkins Institute for the Study, Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Trauma, who testified that Westmoreland showed no sexual interest in children.
Lewis continued, “Due to the possibility of a 10-year minimum sentence and conservative juries in Utah, Mr. Westmoreland agreed to plead the lesser offense of imparting information about a minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.”
SCANDAL – Stoney Westmoreland and Tony Goldwyn in ‘Say Hello to My Little Friend’.
(Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Shortly after his arrest, Westmoreland was removed from his role as the grandfather of the Disney show’s teenage lead character.
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A Disney Channel spokesperson told Fox News at the time of Westmoreland’s arrest, “Given the nature of the charges and our responsibility for the welfare of the minors employed, we have released him from his role. recurring and he will not be returning to work on the series, which wraps production on its third season next week.”
Westmoreland’s other acting credits include “Scandal” and “Breaking Bad”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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