Missouri- The top aide to Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has been nabbed in an internet sting, accused of inappropriate contact with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

Jefferson City police charged Eric Feltner with two misdemeanor counts of attempting to furnish pornography to a minor. He was accused in a probably cause statement of graphically discussing masturbation on two occasions with the victim last year. The victim was actually an undercover police officer.

Kinder immediately fired Feltner, who served as his chief of staff and formerly as his deputy lieutenant governor and advocate for senior citizens.

Feltner was not available to comment on the charges.

In a statement issued by his office, Kinder said the office was unaware of the investigation into Feltner’s activities until contacted Friday morning about the charges.

“While these allegations have yet to be proven, I feel that even the appearance of impropriety on such a disturbing scale cannot be tolerated,” Kinder said. “I have made it clear to my staff that I will not accept even the appearance of this type of troubling behavior by anyone in my office.”

Within an hour of learning of the charges, Kinder ordered an internal review of Feltner’s state e-mail account, state computer and other state electronic systems that Feltner might have had access to.

Kinder spokesman Gary McElyea said Feltner’s e-mail access was severed and the office would fully cooperate with investigators.

In charges filed May 21 in Cole County, prosecutors accused Feltner of providing “explicit written directions and descriptions of ”oral and manual sex over the internet to a minor..”

In court papers, the investigator said that on May 25, 2007, he received an instant message from someone using the name “thebestinmo.” The investigator, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, wrote that the sexual exchange began at 4:14 p.m.

The writer asked the girl the color of her bra and panties and talked about techniques of oral and manual sex. That conversation was followed by an even more explicit exchange on July 5, 2007, the investigator wrote.

Feltner joined the lieutenant governor’s office in February 2005, a month after Kinder took office. He previously worked 10 years for U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Columbia, who is now seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Feltner was Hulshof’s campaign manager when he was first elected in 1996 and later served as district director, overseeing three congressional offices in the 9th District.

When Feltner left to join the lieutenant governor’s office, Hulshof gave him a glowing review.

“Eric has been a very effective advocate on my behalf for over eight years,” Hulshof said. “As one of my top advisors, he has played an integral role in both a political and official capacity since 1996. I thank him for his tremendous effort and wish him the best of luck.”

Before joining Hulshof, Feltner spent four years as executive director of the House Republican Campaign Committee, the principal fund-raiser for Republican candidates for the Missouri House of Representatives.