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‘Predator Poachers’ and Vigilantism in Internet Sex Cases

Internet Luring of a Child Charges in Fort Collins
‘Predator Poachers’ and Vigilantism in Internet Sex Cases

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A man was pinpointed by the vigilante 'Predator Poachers' and has been charge with numerous internet sex crime including Internet Luring of a Child. Read more here.

Many criminal sex cases that are filed in Fort Collins and Larimer County are related to the internet, like Internet Luring of a Child. Often, these cases are the results of sting operations put on by Fort Collins Police or Larimer County Sheriff. However, there are a growing number of vigilante groups that are seemingly doing these jobs for police. One such group, calling themselves the ‘Predator Poachers’ recently alerted Colorado law enforcement to a man who was soliciting ‘children’ online. He was really communicating with the group, who provided all the messages between him and the fake 11-year-old girl he thought he was communicating with online. The man was located and arrested for Internet Luring of a Child, Enticement of a Child, and Sexual Exploitation of a Child.

Larimer County Internet Luring of a Child Attorney: Definition of Internet Luring of a Child in Colorado

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

(1) 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.

(2) It shall not be a defense to this section that a meeting did not occur.

Much like law enforcement, these vigilante groups know exactly what they need the other person involved to say to get them charged with a crime. They know the age the ‘child’ needs to be (in Colorado it’s 14 or younger) and what the context of the conversation should be in order to meet the standards of the statute.

Sentence for Internet Luring of a Child by ‘Predator Poachers’ in Loveland and Estes Park

In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, Internet Luring of a Child is a class 5 felony, unless it is committed with the intent to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual exploitation as defined in section 18-6-403 or sexual contact as defined in section 18-3-401. If that’s the case, then it is a class 4 felony sex offense.

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 a free initial consultation today. Together, we can protect your future.

Photo by Caio

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