On Tuesday, July 30, Darren Wayne Penrose, 58, of Floyd, was arrested and charged with four counts of using the internet to solicit sex with a minor.
The charges are the result of an undercover operation conducted by investigators with the Christiansburg Police Department. Penrose had internet chat conversations with an investigator posing as 13-year-old female, and during the course of those conversations, Penrose arranged to meet the individual he believed to be a minor in Christiansburg for sexual purposes.
Penrose was identified through a subsequent investigation conducted
by the Christiansburg Police Department, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office and the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office - all members of the Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (SOVA ICAC). He was charged with offenses in both Christiansburg and Floyd County. The specific charges for each jurisdiction are listed below:
Christiansburg Charges:
• 1 count 18.2-374.3 - Sexual solicitation of a minor using electronic communication
• 1 count 18.2-374.3 - Using electronic communications to propose acts of sexual intercourse with a child less than 15 years of age
• 1 count 18.2-374.3 - Using electronic means to expose sexual or genital parts to a child less than 15 years of age
Floyd County Charges:
• 1 count 18.2-374.3 - Using electronic communications to propose acts of cunnilingus with a child less than 15 years of age
Penrose is currently being held without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail.