SANDPOINT — A Sagle man accused of a luring a 13-year-old into sexual activity over the internet pleaded guilty to statutory rape on Monday, 1st District Court records show.

In exchange for the plea, charges of enticing a minor, possession of sexually exploitive material and two additional rape charges were dismissed against Justin Lyle Gibson.

Gibson’s plea clears the way for a sentencing hearing on Feb. 21.

Gibson, 33, remains held at the Bonner County Jail with bail set at $100,000 despite repeated attempts to have the sum lowered. Another bail reduction request was denied after Gibson entered his plea, court records indicate.

The allegations surfaced in May, after Bonner County sheriff’s investigators received a time-sensitive cyber tip from Facebook through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The social media network reported that a 13-year-old user was engaging in a sexual discussion online, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Excerpts of Facebook Messenger chats indicated that Gibson picked the teen up at the Sandpoint library on April 14 and he later asked if her whereabouts had been questioned. There was also an unambiguous discussion about their sexual activity, according to court documents.

Gibson, 33, also allegedly sent the teen a nude photo, but he was not successful in obscuring his identity, court records said.

Search warrant documents indicate that bedding, mobile phones, a laptop computer, digital video discs and five computer hard drives were seized as evidence in the case.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.