A Jacksboro man was arrested last week in Frankfort, Kentucky, for allegedly seeking sex with a minor.

According to a news release from the office of Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, he and his Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Cyber Crimes Unit Billie Gene Spears, 45, was arrested Oct. 21 and charged with one count of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sex, a Class D felony.

According to DCI, Spears was the subject of a two-week investigation after allegedly seeking sex with a minor and sending sexually explicit text messages and emails to DCI cyber investigators.

Spears was being held in the Franklin County Regional Jail. He was scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 23 in Franklin District Court in front of Judge Kathy Mangeot.

“I appreciate the work of our cyber investigators and the team from Frankfort Police Department for assisting with this case,” Beshear said. “It is one of our core missions to ensure our children are protected from those who seek to exploit and abuse them.”

The release states that the Office of the Attorney General’s work to prevent child abuse in 2016 led to the arrest of more online child predators than any year in the history of the office. The number of arrests, indictments and convictions total more than 80.