Bob Kasarda

VALPARAISO — A 20-year-old Valparaiso man caught more than a year ago by an area vigilante group trying to meet a child for sex was sentenced this week to nearly two years of probation, records show.

Porter Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Buitendorp accepted Liam Raphael's guilty plea to a felony count of child solicitation and sentenced him to two years behind bars with all but the five days he has already served suspended and to be spent on formal probation.

The judge cited Raphael's lack of criminal history and the unlikeliness he will reoffend.

Raphael is required to register as a sex offender for ten years and abide by those restrictions, records show. He was also ordered to take part in counseling.

Raphael was 19 when on May 9, 2024 he reportedly showed up at a Valparais

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