FORT SMITH (KFSM) –A southern Missouri doctor arrested in a Fort Smith undercover sex sting appeared in court Monday on suspicion of soliciting a four-year-old girl for sex.
Donald W. Lamoureaux, 68, was arrested Friday (Feb. 6) by federal and local authorities on suspicion of online enticement of a minor and traveling to meet a minor. He is being held without bond in the Sebastian County Detention Center, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office.
Lamoureaux appeared in front of a federal magistrate Monday afternoon, where his potential charges were read to him, according to the office of Conner Eldridge, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. His next court date in federal court in Fort Smith has not yet been set.
Lamoureaux is a doctor specializing in family medicine at three southern Missouri physician locations, according to WebMD.com. He has a four-and-a-half star rating on HealthGrades.com
Police said an undercover officer posed as the single mother of a four-year-old girl and set up a meeting with Lamoureaux to allow him to have sex with her daughter at a local hotel. Fort Smith police said they arrested Lamoureaux during the meeting.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Arkansas State Police, Fulton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office, West Plains, Mo., Police Department and South Central Missouri Drug Task Force also took part in the investigation and subsequent arrest.
The undercover online investigation was initiated by a Fort Smith officer on the Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in early January.
During the investigation, the officer began talking with Lamoureaux online. Police said the suspect revealed during the talks that he had interest in sexual activities with young girls less than 10 years old. The undercover officer posed as a mother of a four-year-old daughter, and set up a planned sexual encounter between her fictitious daughter and the suspect at a West Plains, Mo., hotel, police said. Lamoureaux was arrested during the planned meeting.
During the arrest, police executed a simultaneous search warrant on Lamoureaux’s home in Ash Flat. The Sebastian County Prosecutor’s Office is assisting with potential property and money seizures, according to Fort Smith police.
