COEUR d’ALENE — A man who was caught in a sting operation after exchanging inappropriate messages with an undercover police officer posing as a teen girl received a prison sentence, according to the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Christopher D. Hayes, 40, of Post Falls, pleaded guilty in June to enticing a child through the internet, a felony. 

First District Judge John Mitchell sentenced Hayes last week to 15 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence, with parole eligibility after 12 years. 

The charges stem from November 2024, when prosecutors said Hayes reached out to an undercover law enforcement Facebook profile posing as a 13-year-old girl. 

“Over the course of many weeks, Hayes engaged in predatory, sexually graphic communication with the decoy girl,” said a news release published by the prosecutor’s office. 

In January 2025, Hayes “enticed the decoy girl to meet with him,” prosecutors said, arranging to meet the decoy at a park in Post Falls. Police arrested him at the arranged location. 

Prosecutors said Hayes’ adult criminal history includes convictions for assault, battery, assault with sexual motivation and other offenses. 

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