What You Need to Know About Online Stings

It is a known fact that police and law enforcement are actively patrolling the internet, trying to find evidence of sex crimes. Their most common method of doing so is conducting an internet sting operation. If you communicate with people on the internet, it's imperative that you are aware of a few things about how these operations are conducted.

Police are Allowed to Use Deception and other Tactics

Police have wide latitude to do whatever they feel is necessary when they are in cyberspace. People need to be prepared for law enforcement to use any method necessary to catch people. This can include the following:

• Trickery and deception
• Contacting and reaching out to people
• Other means that you would ordinarily think are entrapment
• Pretending to be your friend to ensnare you

In order to prove that any of these tactics were entrapment in a criminal trial, one would need to show that law enforcement used some sort of coercion or pressure to get them to go along with a criminal act.

Messaging Alone May or May Not Be a Crime

While people need to be very careful about who they are talking to on the internet, something more than a plain conversation is necessary for there to be a crime. Defendants would need to take a "substantial step" in furtherance of a crime in order to be charged with an attempted offense. For example, setting up a liaison with someone claiming to be a minor child and traveling to meet that minor would be considered an attempt at committing a crime. However, people need to be very careful about having graphic conversations, especially when they believe that they are talking to someone who is underage, as sending some messages, such as those containing child pornography, may constitute criminal conduct.

Stop Talking if You Believe that it Is a Minor

You may not learn that someone is a minor until the conversation is already well underway. The second that you learn that you are talking to someone who is under the legal age, you need to cut the conversation off immediately. Continuing the dialogue is a recipe for further trouble, especially when you may not know the dividing line between a conversation and a crime. Ending an exchange with someone whom you may have grown close to is difficult, but that emotional hurt is much less than the pain of a criminal charge. Be conscious of the fact that nothing good can come from talking to a minor child online. 

The rule of thumb is that if something does not feel or seem right, walk away. When in doubt, end the conversation. Law enforcement generally knows the line between legal and illegal, and they are skilled in exploiting it. Defendants may not learn until it is too late.

Contact an Experienced Sex Crimes Attorney

If you are facing charges as a result of an internet sting operation, the consequences for you and your family can be dramatic. Not only is your freedom at stake, but your reputation and livelihood are on the line as well. Call Cohen Law Offices at (715) 514-5051 or contact us online today to schedule a free legal consultation and case evaluation with an experienced sex crimes lawyer.