HOUSTON -- The first man arrested and charged in connection with a Local 2 Internet predator sting was sentenced Monday, the Troubleshooters reported.

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Predator Appeals To Judge For Leniency

Jake Matthew Clawson, 25, of Webster, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child -- both felonies. He was accused of meeting two 13-year-old girls online and having sexual encounters with them.

District Court Judge Denise Collins sentenced the pizza shop manager to prison for 10 years, despite his pleas for leniency.

"Your honor, I've learned a lot. When I got caught by the Channel 2 investigation, it was kind of like what my mother said -- it was just a swift kick in the gut. And it was at that particular point that I realized that I had a problem and there was something I needed to do. I needed to change things in my life," Clawson testified on the stand.

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In February 2004, the Local 2 Troubleshooters caught Clawson in an undercover sting when they posed online as a 13-year-old Houston girl.

Clawson sent the Troubleshooters his picture and asked, "So, are you still a virgin?"

But instead of finding the young girl he thought he was chatting with online, he found the Troubleshooters with cameras rolling.

The day after that report aired, law officers began investigating every man who knocked at the Troubleshooters' door.

When Texas Rangers investigated Clawson, they said they discovered that his past online chatting led him to real sex meetings he had with two girls.

Both girls told the Rangers about those sexual encounters.

Prosecutors called Clawson a predator searching for 13-year-old virgins online.

On the stand, Clawson admitted to behaving like a predator.

"At first I did not think that my acts were along the lines of a sexual predator. But then I realized that the computer monitor was kind of my bushes," he said.

The assistant district attorney said Clawson repeatedly searched for underage girls, even after police found him in a vehicle with a naked teen. He was caught in the Troubleshooters sting after he had sex with the two 13-year-olds who brought the charges.

"I guess he felt so bad about that, he decided to get on the Internet again and the people at Channel 2 news, with their sting were able to show his true colors," said Mark Donnelly, an assistant district attorney.

Clawson cried as deputies led him out of court.

Clawson's punishment ranged from probation to up to 20 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in about five years. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.

Four other men face charges from the Internet predator investigation on a case involving a different girl in Fort Bend County.

Three of them are scheduled to appear in court Friday.