Teens have been lying about their age for as long as age restrictions have existed. Crafting a convincing fake ID used to require impressive graphic design skills, boatloads of audacity, or both. People don’t agree on much these days, but everyone can agree that the best scene in Superbad is the one where baby-faced Fogel shows off his fake ID, which asks the recipient to believe not only that the bearer is a resident of Hawaii but also that his name is McLovin.
Perhaps, in more innocent times, your grandpa drew a fake mustache on his face with his mother’s eyeliner and tried to gain entry into a place where only grown men belonged. The Internet has made it easier for teens to pretend to be adults, as well as for adults to pretend to be teens; even with current age verification systems, it is almost impossible to be completely sure of who you are talking to online.
In criminal cases involving online solicitation of minors, you can sometimes cast doubt on the prosecution’s allegations by showing that you reasonably believed that the person you were communicating with was an adult, but simply pointing to the mendacious atmosphere of the Internet does not constitute a valid defense.
If you maintain that your online communications were harmless, but prosecutors claim that they amount to online solicitation of a minor, contact a Texas sex crime attorney.
Hempstead Man Faces Online Solicitation Charges After Being Caught in a Web of Lies
A Hempstead man communicated online with a woman in The Woodlands, and they arranged to meet in person. The man traveled to The Woodlands, but when he arrived, the man who answered the door refused to let him in. Eventually, the police got involved, and they found that the man who answered the door was the only adult at the house. The person who had been chatting online with the man from Hempstead was actually a 13-year-old adolescent, and the owner of the house had instructed her to do it. Why is the man from Hempstead facing criminal charges? Didn’t he help stop a case of human trafficking?
If that were all there was to the story, then the defendant would be in a strong position to argue that he had never intended to solicit a minor, and he reasonably believed that he was making plans to meet a woman close to his own age. A complicating factor in this case is that some of the defendant’s conversations were about a 14-year-old who was also at the house in The Woodlands when the defendant arrived. Showing that he thought one of the teens was an adult does not show that he reasonably believed that they were both adults. He may be able to show that his statements about the 14-year-old only show that he knew her age but do not amount to solicitation.
Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC, About Criminal Defense Cases
A Dallas criminal defense lawyer can help you fight charges involving online solicitation of minors. Contact the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC in Dallas, Texas to discuss your case.