Fergie's Tech Blog

Internet paedophile entrapment methods "illegal"

Thanks to Nick Farrell over at The Inquirer for pointing this out.

An article in the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune reports that:

The practice has become widespread undercover agents pose as children on Internet chat rooms. When adults strike up online relationships and arrange for sexual liaisons, police are waiting at the rendezvous point with handcuffs and arrest warrants.

But a ruling of a federal court judge in Kansas City is calling the legality of the tactic into question.

U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple acquitted Jan Helder yesterday of using the Internet to try to entice a child into sex. Helder’s attorney, J.R. Hobbs, had argued that his client didn’t break federal law because the person his client was accused of enticing wasn’t a minor but a Platte County deputy pretending to be a minor. The ruling came just minutes after a jury returned a guilty verdict. Helder, 42, of Mission Hills, Kan., had faced a sentence of five to 30 years.

"We will appeal this," U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said. "Our program is going forward."

Hoping to make a dent in what appears to be a widespread problem, the Platte County Sheriff’s Department has made online child exploitation a priority. Suspects accused of crimes in Missouri are prosecuted at the state level. Federal prosecutors handle suspects from other states.

Federal prosecutors in Kansas City said about 30 men had been convicted on federal charges here using undercover officers or agents. Many more cases are pending.

posted by Fergie @ 8/04/2005 06:36:00 AM