Roanoke man pleads guilty to soliciting a minor online in Rockingham County

A Roanoke man pleaded guilty in Rockingham County Circuit Court Monday afternoon for soliciting a minor online.

Jarett Henshaw, 36, pleaded guilty to the felony charge, and he will now serve seven years in prison, with five years of probation.

Henshaw was

, by Virginia State Police.

According to a press release, Henshaw was arrested after an undercover, online operation where Henshaw interacted with an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigator, who was posing as an underage girl.

State police say he was running a private, online chat room where he engaged with numerous unknown minors.

A judge sentenced Henshaw to 30 years in prison, with 23 years suspended. In exchange for his guilty plea, two additional felony counts of soliciting a minor were dropped by the court.

WHSV's sister station WDBJ says Henshaw worked for WSLS-TV from 2004 until the time of his arrested and appeared on-air as a reporter between 2009 and 2012.