KEMAH — A San Antonio man who was fighting his conviction for attempting to solicit sex from a 13-year-old girl online was denied his appeal on Thursday. Stacy Michael Maloney was convicted in 2007 of trying to lure a teen to a Kemah parking lot after the two met in an online chat room. The 13-year-old, “Brandy,” was actually Kemah police detective Roger Williamson. Maloney, 56, was convicted of online solicitation and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. He appealed, arguing that the state’s online solicitation laws were overly broad and infringed on his right to privacy. The Texas First Court of Appeals denied his argument on Thursday. Assistant Police Chief Greg Rikard said he was pleased the appeals court upheld the conviction. Rikard also said his department and detective had a solid case. Maloney’s first trial ended in a hung jury in 2007, but three months later a different jury took less than 20 minutes to convict him. In October of 2005, Maloney, who was the public information officer for St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, struck up a conversation in a Yahoo! chat room with “Brandy.” After 17 hours of Internet chatting and a phone call in which a female Kemah officer posed as the 13-year-old girl, Maloney arranged a meeting in Kemah. His trip of more than 200 miles ended in his arrest. Inside Maloney’s truck was a bottle of eight Viagra pills, prescribed 10 months before. Police also found condoms and a bottle of Advil. In online chats, Maloney had promised to bring some of the pain medication for the “girl,” who had written of recently having braces fitted.
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Stacy Michael Maloney was convicted in 2007 of luring the teen to a Kemah parking lot after the two met in an online chat room. On Thursday a state appeals court denied his appeal of the conviction. Credit:
