Fort Collins Internet Luring of a Child Attorney
Man Convicted of Internet Luring Gets New Trial

A man convicted of Internet Luring had his case overturned. Read more about Fort Collins Internet Luring here.

Internet Luring of a Child is charge in Fort Collins and Larimer County when a person is accused of sexually communicating with a child under the age of 15 years, and inviting said child to meet for any reason. In Larimer County, a man was convicted of this crime, stemming from a 2013 sting operation in which he was communicating online with a Loveland police detective posing as a 14-year-old girl. While the jury found the man guilty, his conviction was overturned after he filed an appeal regarding the judge. The judge who oversaw the trial had previously been a prosecutor with Larimer County. She specifically oversaw the prosecutors who handled the case and was even still a prosecutor herself when the case was first filed. The man’s defense attorney brought this fact up and asked for the judge to recuse herself, but she refused stating that she didn’t remember this case during her time as a prosecutor. Apparently, the appellate court disagreed with her reasoning and overturned the man’s conviction.

Larimer County Internet Luring of a Child Lawyer: Definition of Fort Collins Internet Luring in Colorado

The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Internet Luring – C.R.S. 18-3-306 – is:

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 that communication or in any subsequent communication by computer, computer network, telephone network, data network, text message, or instant message, 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.

Commonly in sting operations, the police agency involved will work hard to have the person they are communicating with meet all the criteria in order to make the charges stick. This statute specifically states that it is not a defense that the meeting never occurred. So, say the person was communicating and did set up a time to meet, but changed their mind and never followed through with the meeting. They still would be facing the felony charge for simply suggesting the meeting take place.

If you or someone you love has been charged with Internet Luring of a Child, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule your free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.