Andrew Turley, 30, was sentenced by a jury after being convicted of trafficking of a child and compelling prostitution of someone under the age of 18.
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"This case broke my heart. A father is supposed to be a protector not a predator," Harris County Assistant District Attorney Stewanna Miskell said. "Jurors saw the need to keep him out of our community."
Back in 2015, Turley thought he was emailing a potential "John," who was responding to his Craigslist ad. Instead, Turley was exchanging messages with an officer from the Houston Police Vice Division.
Over the course of nearly 70 emails, Turley told the would-be customer he had a girl "younger than 10" that he would give "sleep meds" for an encounter.
He charged $1,000 for two hours with his daughter, officials said.
Turley implied through the messages the girl might be too young for intercourse, but everything else was OK.
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A time was agreed upon when Turley would be in town to visit his daughter, who lived with her mother in the Houston area.
The undercover officer arrived at the apartment, Turley checked the cash, then took him to a bedroom where the girl was in bed and appeared to be "under the influence of an unknown substance," according to officers. Turley was then arrested.
"Due to the excellent work of Houston Police Department Vice division, this little girl's life and innocence was saved," Assistant District Attorney Johna Stallings, chief of the Child Exploitation Crimes Division said.
Turley was sentenced to 30 years on each charge that must be served consecutively. He must serve a minimum of 45 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole.