A Berryville man was sentenced to eight years in prison last week after pleading guilty to felony charges and admitting he arranged to meet a law enforcement officer, whom he believed was a teenage girl, for a sexual encounter.

William Brock, 34, pleaded guilty to internet stalking of a child, a Class B felony, and sexual indecency with a child, a Class D felony.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Brock entered his plea on Thursday, July 13, in Benton County Circuit Court.

Circuit Judge Brad L. Karren accepted Brock’s plea and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, with 12 years suspended. Karren also ordered Brock to pay court courts, fines and restitution. Brock will be required to register as a sex offender.

Brock was arrested in October 2022, more than four months after corresponding with an undercover Siloam Springs police officer on social media. The officer was posing as a 14-year-old female.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, Brock identified himself as a 23-year-old man and sent sexually explicit messages and photos to the undercover officer.

“I would invite you over/ come pick you up, but I have a feeling Chris Hanson is going to be involved somehow,” Brock wrote in one message, referring to the host of the television series “Dateline: To Catch a Predator.”

Brock, who will be given credit for more than nine months served in the Benton County jail, remained in custody there as of Tuesday, July 18.