Internet Solicitation

Paul D. Cramm - Kansas City Internet Sex Crimes Defense Attorney

Most people have seen the Dateline TV features in which law enforcement agents pretend to be underage girls in Internet chatrooms and engage in sexually explicit exchanges with adult men. These "chats" lead to arrangements for a meeting for sex, and when the unsuspecting gentleman shows up, he's arrested on camera.

Virtually identical "sting" operations are occurring nationwide - several have been successfully implemented by Federal and local law enforcement agencies right here in the Kansas City Metro Area.  Regardless of whether your arrest was nationally televised,  contact my office in Olathe if you need a Kansas City Internet solicitation defense lawyer to defend you on charges of child enticement or solicitation of a minor for sex. My understanding of the statutes, penalties, and possible defenses to these charges can make a significant difference to the ultimate resolution of your case.

Just as in child pornography possession cases, both state and Federal laws have been tightened up to defeat and invalidate prio successful defenses to Internet solicitation charges. Now the prosecutors no longer have to prove whether the defendant actually intended the meeting for sexual purposes, or whether the defendant actually believed that his chat room correspondent was an underage girl. Since the latest Kansas amendments to the law in 2006, simply soliciting sexual activity via the internet from a 'purported' child under 16 may be sufficient to support prosecution and conviction.

Because of the breadth of the new laws, under which a simple transcript of a chat room conversation might support a conviction in some cases, defending charges of Internet sex crimes or electronic solicitation of a minor on the facts can be very difficult. In some cases, the best result is obtained by negotiating with the prosecutor for amendment of the initial charges or for an agreement on sentencing recommendations following successful completion of a treatment program with a sexual behavior therapist or other clinical professional.

To see what the best strategy might be for defending your case, contact my criminal defense law firm for a free consultation in Olathe, Kansas.