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November 23, 2011

Colorado DA Nets Another Sexting Suspect for Internet Luring

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ELLICOTT, COLO.is a very small town in Colorado on the Eastern Plains just east of Colorado Springs.

In that small jurisdiction a School District board member has just been arrested for allegedly sexting a 14-year-old boy.

Thirty-seven-year-old Stefanie Dickinson was arrested Sunday for Internet Luring of a Child, a class four felony.

As the Schools Board's treasurer she had access to the alleged victim in the case a 14-year-old boy, who attends Ellicott High School

The young boy allegedly began receiving text messages from Dickinson sometime in August after returning from a trip with her and her family to Lake Meridith in Ordway

The boy's sister found the texts while he was at football practice. It said many of them are "sexual in nature" and reference "oral sex" among other things.

One reads "I will work on not being scared so something can happen," while another says "You can't tell anyone about this at all because I could lose my family."

H. Michael's Take

While there is no Colorado specific crime titled Sexting - the crimes that can be charged in a case like this are very serious. One possibility is the Colorado Sex Offender Crime of Sexual Exploitation of a Child. Another is Internet Luring - a form of solicitation of a minor to engage in sex. Just the attempt is a very serious felony in Colorado.

The increasing attention to Internet and Electronic Based communication in our modern world - has led to the use of these resources to engage in the more recognizable sex offender crimes that have always existed. Law enforcement's resources to track and to fullly investigate and charge these crimes is on the rise in terms of the gathering of intelligence - organization and pooling of Federal and State funds and and the sharing of technology

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

June 29, 2011

Colorado Sex Crimes Possession of Child Pornography Arrests Increas

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In a recent article in the Denver Post - the author brings to light the substantial increase in Colorado Child Pornography case prosecutions.

The number of Colorado prosecutions involving the possession and trading of child
pornography more than quadrupled from 36 cases filed in 2001 to 159 in 2009. While the number slightly decreased in 2010 - the 2011 number of case filings is on the increase.

Child pornography is predominantly found in multiple formats including print media, videotape, film, CD-ROM, or DVD. It is transmitted on various platforms within the Internet including newsgroups, Internet Relay Chat (chatrooms), Instant Message, File Transfer Protocol, e-mail, websites, and peer-to-peer technology.

Many individuals who surf the internet - become trapped in sites that distribute these images -much of the time it is curiosity followed by ignorance - helped along by the immaturity of the internet user. While it is difficult to describe a "typical" child pornography possessor because there is not just one type of person who commits this crime.

In a national study of 1,713 people arrested for the possession of child pornography in a 1-year period, the possessors ran the gamut in terms of income, education level, marital status, and age. Virtually all of those who were arrested were men, 91% were white, and most were unmarried at the time of their crime, either because they had never married (41%) or because they were separated, divorced, or widowed (21%).

With advances in technology the formation of the State of Colorado's formed the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Colorado Springs.

The truth is this - there are innocent victims in these cases. Because of the failings of individuals who - at times do not understand the internet and at others - have no idea how serious a crime this can be.

Once these images are on the Internet, they are irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever. The child is clearly revictimized as the images are viewed again and again. However, the hysteria surrounding this crime sometimes compels the prosecution of the kind of individual who means no harm - but a person who needs assistance in understanding the impact of their actions - if they were intentional.

The search warrants today that are issued in these cases are complex. They encompass media-storage devices from phones to routers to game consoles.

The Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory provides professional assistance in analyzing these images using tools provided in large part by federal agencies.

It is not only a Colorado State Crime - these cases are prosecuted at the federal level. It is a federal crime to knowingly possess, manufacture, distribute, or access with intent to view child pornography (18 U.S.C. ยง2252). All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws criminalizing the possession, manufacture, and distribution of child pornography. As a result, a person who violates these laws may face federal and/or state charges.

Investigations in recent months have resulted in the prosecutions of police officers, teachers, soldiers and a children's baseball umpire according to the Denver Post.

This is an area that requires not only an experienced criminal defense lawyer - but one who has experience in these kinds of difficult and complex cases.

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

February 9, 2011

Arrest in Parker Colorado Evidence of Crackdown on Interstate Federal Sex Offense Prosecution

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While it has been rare in the past for the Federal Government to focus on State Sex Offender Cases, a recent decision of federal prosecutors of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) may illustrate a change in position.

Special ICE Agents arrested Gary Lee Waffle - 68 - for traveling from Washington State to Colorado "to engage in sex" with a child.

This was a Douglas County Colorado Internet "sting" operation in which a Parker Colorado.

Federal Crimes for Sexual Assault

Waffle was charged by Criminal Complaint with (1) Traveling With Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct; (2) Aggravated Sexual Abuse with Children; and (3) Attempted Coercion and Enticement, following his arrest in Parker.

These crimes can result in than 30 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine, or both in connection with each of the first two charges, and not more than life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, or both, on the third charge.

The Parker Police Department is a member of the national ICAC (Internet Crimes Against
Children) Task Force, which currently is funded by a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The case investigation is part of Operation Predator, which is a nationwide ICE program intended to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, and since then ICE agents have arrested more than 12,800 individuals.

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

December 7, 2010

Utah Sex Crimes Law Finds Rights of Law Enforcement Greater Than Privacy Interests

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Divulge Online IDs, Court Tells Utah Sex Offenders

The Story:

(CN) - The 10th Circuit upheld a Utah law that forces sex offenders to hand over names they use to send e-mails and instant messages.

A Utah resident, convicted by the military for sex crimes against a minor, filed suit anonymously to contest the law, which requires sex offenders to identify all "Internet identifiers," defined as "any electronic mail, chat, instant messenger, social networking or similar name used for Internet communication."

Utah amended the law, which originally required sex offenders to disclose their passwords, after a federal judge ruled that provision infringed on Doe's First Amendment rights.

The 10th Circuit in Denver, which issued its opinion in October but recently corrected the filing, ruled that law enforcement investigations into sex-related crimes trumped the plaintiff's claims under the First Amendment because of a "compelling interest."

Judge Monroe McKay, writing for the three-judge panel, noted that sex offenders were still allowed a degree of online anonymity since law enforcement limits its use of the information to criminal investigations.

"Although there is a possibility that a government agent would have access to Mr. Doe's identity at the time he was speaking - as, for example, if an undercover sought him out in a chat room in the course of investigating a sex crime - we are not persuaded that this possibility imposes a constitutionally improper burden on speech," McKay said.

The judge also rejected claims that the law constitutes an illegal search and seizure barred by the Fourth Amendment or the ex post facto clause of the Constitution.

"Looking closely at Mr. Doe's argument on this issue, it seems clear that his contentions depend entirely upon his argument that the Utah statute would allow impermissible public disclosure of his internet identifiers, thereby destroying his right to anonymous speech," McKay wrote. "However, because we conclude that Utah's registration statute does not violate the First Amendment, we hold that the effect of the new disclosure requirements is not substantial enough.

H.Michael's Take

Often - in the hysteria that marks allegations of sex crimes - no matter how minor -individual rights are eroded. I have represented many people - young and old -who have become caught up in the dominance of the porn industry on the interent. These people most often have no criminal history - are naive in the ways of the world and the internet and often become wholly enveloped in pronographic sites and chat rooms. They are no match for the seduction of the "net"and after they have been "stung" by law enforcement -- their lives are marred forever by their identification as sex offenders.

These people need our help - not our condemnation. This Utah law - while a small step in a much larger "movement" signifies the rebalancing of the rights of those who bear this lable - some - for the rest of their lives. It is a step in the wrong direction in my opinion - as each individual should be viewed in the context of their lives...

Posted by H. Michael Steinberg | | Email This Post

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