SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man who admitted to having sex with a teenager and taking the boy to a cruising spot where men meet for sex is to serve 18 years in prison.

Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Clifford Charles Pickens, 56, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy, incest, second-degree sodomy and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

He was sentenced on Thursday, Nov. 6, to seven years in prison on each of the sodomy charges, four years for incest and 18 years for trafficking. The charges are to be served concurrently.

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