Man sentenced to six years for child solicitation FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) — A 25-year-old Indianapolis man has been sentenced to six years in prison for child solicitation. On Thursday, Zachary Deralus, 25, of Indianapolis, was sentenced after pleading guilty to child solicitation. Judge D ouglas Cummins, of Johnson County Superior Court 3, sentenced Deralus to eight years with six years to be served in prison. Deralus will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of this conviction upon his release from prison. Deralus was one of 22 men arrested in a multiple-day child solicitation operation that took place in Sept. 2024. The operation was led by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department. This investigation began when Deralus responded to an ad and started communicating with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl. Deralus, after making arrangements to pay for sex acts, traveling to Franklin, Indiana, where he believed he would be meeting the 15-year-old girl. The court highlighted as aggravating factors that Deralus had a criminal history that began when he was 16 years old. His criminal history included an armed robbery conviction and multiple probation violations. Deralus was on probation out of Marion County at the time he committed this crime in Johnson County. “We are very pleased that Judge Cummins gave this defendant six years in prison,” said Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner. “I hope this criminal and others like him are picking up on the message that we’re sending which is to stay away from underage kids. We appreciate all the hard work of our law enforcement partners in protecting young people. This is how we keep our community safe.” ...read more read less