Top Missouri Department of Revenue lawyer accused of trying to pay minor for sex
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Daniel Follett was charged with child enticement for sex involving a decoy.
- Court records allege that Follett met decoy online, believed her to be 16 years old.
- Follett served as a Missouri assistant attorney genera before moving to MDOR.
The top attorney at the Missouri Department of Revenue was charged this week with a child sex crime in Boone County.
Court records show that Daniel Follett, 56, of Columbia, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with child enticement based on a sting that involved a decoy posing as a 16-year-old.
According to Follett’s LinkedIn page, he started working at the Department of Revenue in September 2015 and became the agency’s general counsel in April 2023. Before that, he spent six years as an assistant Missouri attorney general.
A probable cause statement supporting the child enticement charge says that around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Follett “arrived at an address in Boone County, Missouri, to pay money to have sex with a female whom he believed was under the age of 17, which he met online to engage in sexual acts.”
“Furthermore, the messages sent from the defendant indicated he would meet the 16-year-old female whom he met online and a discussion to pay money to engage in sexual conduct with the person he believed was under the age of 17,” the statement continues. “The defendant went to the door at a predetermined location to meet the minor.
Jessica Caldera, an attorney representing Follett, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Revenue also did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Follett’s status as a state employee.
Follett is one of four men recently booked into the Boone County Jail on child enticement charges, KOMU-TV reported.
The charging document says that people convicted of child enticement are subject to lifetime supervision and are ineligible for probation or parole for at least five years.
Court documents show that Follett was scheduled to be arraigned at 1 p.m. on Thursday in Columbia.
