Education, Mentoring or Helping a Child is Outlawed
Imagine talking to a niece about sexual things. She called and told you she has been embarrassed and teased at school for not knowing the meaning of some sexual phrases. She has come to you in the past and today you have a frank conversation with her over the internet at first and then by phone. Finally, you suggest the two of you meet at a restaurant in Littleton later that night. The law labels these sexual phrases “explicit sexual conduct,” which includes “sexual intercourse, erotic fondling, erotic nudity, masturbation, sadomasochism, sexual excitement.” C.R.S. 18-6-403(2)(e). You never made any advances to your fourteen year old niece – you love her. You just want to be there for her because her parents are too busy with careers in Jefferson County. Plus, you are close to the family. You never imagined that you just committed a serious felony sexual offense called Internet Luring of a Child.
Internet Luring of a Child is defined as:
An actor commits internet luring of a child if the actor knowingly communicates over a computer or computer network, telephone network, or data network or by a text message or instant message to a person who the actor knows or believes to be under fifteen years of age and, in communication or in any subsequent communication (by one of the means listed above), describes explicit sexual conduct as defined in section 18-6-403(2)(e), and, in connection with that description, makes a statement persuading or inviting the person to meet the actor for any purpose, and the actor is more than four years older than the person or than the age the actor believes the person to be.
A Simple Fix
Most notable about the definition of Internet Luring of a Child is that the actor does not need to have sexual assault on a child in mind or any sort of sexual advancement toward the child. Simply discussing such material and then suggesting a meeting for ANY PURPOSE, is a felony. There is no exception for parenting, mentoring or even teaching. How tough would it be to solve the problem by defining the meeting’s purpose as being for sexual advancement, sexual contact, grooming or sexual assault in Denver or Adams County. But left as it is with “any purpose”, our legislature is rightly criticized for writing this law so poorly. There are dozens of prosocial examples we want to encourage between kids and their mentors, which are criminalized under this statute.
If you get caught up in this broadly written felony sexual offense in Douglas County or Arapahoe County, exercise your right to remain silent and call one of our top criminal lawyers at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.