In United States v. Shinn, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11863 (8th Cir. 2012), the Eighth Circuit affirmed a conviction for attempting to induce a child to engage in criminal sexual activities over an argument of entrapment.
The defendant had engaged in an adult romance chat room conversation with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, though really a law enforcement officer. The defendant told her that if she was older, he would want to take her out to dinner but said "you're just too young. . . . you want to stay a virgin for as long as possible." The "girl" then indicated she was not a virgin. The two later discussed getting together once she turned 18. As they continued to chat over several months, the conversation progressed to sexual experiences, and the defendant sent her pictures of himself wearing only underwear.
Nearly three months later, the two finalized plans to meet at a hotel. After arriving, the defendant was arrested, and in his car were condoms and cameras, along with the girl's name and contact information. A search of his computer revealed no chats with minors nor evidence related to child pornography. He was convicted and sentenced to sixty-three months in prison.
At trial, the defendant argued inducement as the chat was in an adult romance chat room, the officer initiated some of the chats, and the alleged girl was portrayed "as a sexually precocious teenager." He also argued there was no evidence of predisposition. However, as the Eighth Circuit acknowledged, the defendant initiated the first five conversations and first mentioned sex (referencing her virginity), and he continued to bring sex up over other conversations. Further, predisposition was shown because he "readily availed himself of the opportunity to perpetrate the crime."
Thursday, June 14, 2012
8th Circuit affirms conviction despite defendant's entrapment defense
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Do the amount of these government created cases match the actual reports of this activity? I know we make excuses for this in a legal sence (the initiated the contact), but this seems like showing up at a homeless shelter, putting a thousand dollars on the table and seeing if anyone tries to steal it. Therefore, because no one directly induced them, by current president, the person was "predisposed" to steal the thousand dollars.
ReplyDeleteShowing up in a place where lonely single guys are picking up women (this one said it was an adult romance chat right?) seems very questionable on law Enforcement's part, in that 'Sherman' was clear that police were not to manufacture crime. Yet, even showing that the agent did in fact initiate contact with him later on, basically giving a lonely man some attention, he didn't get an entrapment instruction. Strange days.
I am not aware of a study suggesting how often actual 14-year-old girls go to the Internet to meet 40-year-old men, but I would at least hope that the number is very small.
DeleteSometimes the tactics of law enforcement do seem to be borderline entrapment, and as you noted specifically with this case, the background facts seem to be a close call. However, the persuasive facts are typically that the defendant (1) knows the "child" is underage, and (2) travels to a location for the purpose of engaging in sex with the child. Legally, it's slightly more complicated, but those facts beat the entrapment defense nearly every time.