When Jeffrey Binder made plans to drive to Polk County and be intimate with a 14-year-old girl, he had no idea the “girl” was an undercover detective.

The jury deliberated less than an hour before finding Binder, 28, of Winter Haven,  guilty Nov. 29 of attempted lewd battery on a child, traveling to meet a minor and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. He is facing up to 25 years in prison and will be sentenced January 12.

Assistant State Attorney Courtney Durden told jurors an undercover Polk County Sheriff’s Office detective first received online messages from Binder on March 29, 2016, asking if she wanted to hang out. The detective quickly told Binder she was only 14, but it didn’t deter him.

Nearly an hour later, he began to discuss plans to drive to Polk County, and the following day, he told the “girl” he wanted to have sex with her. About 6 p.m. on March 30, 2016, Binder drove to the undercover location, where he was arrested.

Binder had contraception on him and the cell phone he was using to text the detective. When he was taken into custody, Binder told law enforcement, “Now I gotta tell my work and family that I got arrested for soliciting a 14-year-old for sex.”

Binder took the stand to testify, and he told jurors he didn’t believe the girl was only 14. He said that he felt the girl was at least 18 and that he thought she was lying about her age.

Durden reminded Binder that the “girl” repeatedly told him she was only 14. She even made remarks about how she wasn’t old enough to have a Facebook and that she was getting a cell phone for her fifteenth birthday.

The defense argued Binder was entrapped by law enforcement and that his actions were a result of him feeling pressured. But Durden reminded jurors that the detective gave him multiple opportunities to not go through with committing the crime.

“There was a period during their messages where she stopped responding, and he texted and called repeatedly,” Durden said. “He wasn’t entrapped.”