A note offering oral sex to young Goochland boys led to the arrest of a Powhatan man yesterday.

Vernard Jefferson Kirby, 47, of Old River Trail in Powhatan, was charged with using a cell phone to solicit oral sex from someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy, said Goochland Sheriff James L. Agnew.

Agnew said that a resident found the note last week under the U.S. 522 bridge crossing the James River at Maidens and delivered it to the sheriff’s office.

“This was a graphic note soliciting specific acts with young boys,” said Agnew. The note was left, he added, at a spot popular among Goochland youth.  “Kids fish there, and gather on the weekend.”

The note included two cell phone numbers, and earlier this week Goochland deputies began texting Kirby to set up a meeting near the 522, or Maidens, Bridge.

An undercover Chesterfield County police officer, chosen due to his youthful appearance, posed as a 14-year-old and met Kirby around 4:30 p.m.

Officials say Kirby, who later admitted to writing the note, proposed to perform oral sex and other sexual acts on the undercover officer.

Goochland deputies arrested Kirby, who was jailed without bond in Henrico County.

“There will be at least one, and probably other, additional charges because this individual solicited the undercover officer in person when he got there,” said Agnew. 

Kirby will face a preliminary hearing on March 29 in Goochland General District Court.