ORLANDO, Fla. — A former Lake Minneola High School teacher accused of posting a Craigslist ad looking for “the right sadistic pervert” to kidnap, rape and possibly kill a co-worker was sentenced to 30 years in prison Thursday.
Dane Gillis, 59, posted the ad, which stated: “Looking for a guy or group who (are) into extremely taboo scenes,” the FBI said in a release.
An undercover agent responded to the ad posing as a father with an 11-year-old daughter, investigators said.
“Gillis communicated with the agent through email and text for two weeks,” the release said. “During these communications, Gillis made arrangements to have sex with the child and also solicited the agent to help him kidnap and rape a former co-worker.”
During a Sept. 22, 2015, court hearing, an FBI agent testified that Gillis had been posting similar ads online for more than a year.
Gillis traveled more than an hour from his Leesburg home on Sept. 16, 2015, to meet with who he thought were the father and child, but was greeted by FBI agents and was arrested.
A search of his smartphone and computer revealed internet searches for kidnapping, rape and child pornography, the FBI said.
“Gillis also had saved scores of pictures of the intended kidnapping victim on his computer,” the release said.
At the time of his arrest, Gillis was a chef at the Mission Inn Resort and volunteer with the American Culinary Federation to feed the homeless.
His intended victim was also a chef at the resort who said at the time she did not know about Gillis’ ads until he was arrested.
A federal court jury in Orlando found Gillis guilty in May.