VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A former Navy chief petty officer from Virginia Beach was sentenced to 17 years in prison for attempted sex trafficking of a minor and other charges Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
The sentencing comes after Daniel Alan Puff, 38, was convicted on Jan. 26 for attempted coercion and enticement, attempted sex trafficking of a minor, obstruction of justice and false statement to a law enforcement officer.
The investigation began on March 29, 2022, when Puff contacted an undercover agent and agreed to pay $60 in exchange for a sex act from what he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
According to the DOJ, Puff negotiated to receive a sex act from the girl and thought he was speaking to her mother. He and the agent agreed to meet in Chesapeake the next day.
When he got to the meeting location, he checked the area for law enforcement. He gave $60 to the agent and stated the sex act he wished to engage in with the child, the DOJ said.
He was then arrested and handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, where he tried to delete the text application from his phone and falsely claimed to a law enforcement agent that he was attempting to text someone.