Internet Luring of a Child is charged in Fort Collins and Larimer County when a person uses the internet to communicate with someone 14 years old or younger and the messages are sexual and also include an invitation to meet in person. A former councilman was charged with this crime back in October of 2019, and due to issues related to COVID his trials have been set out to May 2021. This is not uncommon with the current state of things. Counties across the state, including Larimer County, have been suspending jury trials because of the pandemic. Some are supposed to be restarting trials in January 2021, but many have already pushed that back again to February or March. The man in this case, had been a part of a sting operation, where he was communicating with an undercover officer pretending to be a 14-year-old girl. When he went to meet up with the girl, he was met by law enforcement. The man is maintaining his innocence and told police that he was meeting up with the ‘girl’ to counsel her about not talking to people online.
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:
You should note in reading the statute that the language was very specifically chosen to cover these undercover operations. There is no defense that the person was not actually the age they were claiming to be. It’s also not a defense for this crime that the meeting didn’t occur. Simply inviting or suggesting the meeting is enough to meet the standard.
Sentence for Internet Luring of a Child in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, Internet Luring of a Child is a class 5 felony. However, if the purpose of the meeting is for sexual exploitation or sexual contact, then it is a class 4 felony.