A Mercer County man is in the Columbiana County Jail awaiting transfer to an Ohio prison to begin a four-year sentence after being caught in an underage prostitution sting.

The sentence was handed down last week by a judge in Columbiana County to 35-year-old Adam Saunders of Findley Township after a jury found him guilty of Compelling Prostitution, Attempted Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, Possessing Criminal Tools, and Engaging in Prostitution.

Prosecutors say that in 2021, Saunders was communicating with an undercover officer posing as an adult female and a fourteen-year-old girl.

According to investigators from the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and the East Palestine Police Department, Saunders solicited sex from both and then drove to Columbiana County hoping to meet with the two but was arrested instead.

The judge ordered Saunders to register as a sex offender when he completes his sentence.