Internet Luring & Chat Room

Authorities continue to pour outsized resources into investigations focusing on child luring and Internet chat rooms. National television shows and local sting operations have made such crimes big news. Seldom are the television cameras there a year later when charges against a defendant are drastically reduced or dismissed altogether.

Denver Child Luring Defense Attorney Andres R. Guevara has seen local, state and federal law enforcement officers place emphasis on such investigations in complete disproportion to the problem. Valuable law enforcement resources are consumed by officers sitting at a computer trying to get faceless defendants to talk dirty to them.

Surprise! They usually find someone out there willing to do so.

Colorado Law: Child Enticement & Internet Luring

18-3-305 Child Enticement: A person can be charged with child enticement if he persuades or attempts to persuade a child under the age of 15 to enter a room, vehicle, building or other secluded place with the intent to engage in sexual conduct with the child. A mere invitation via chat, text, e-mail or phone, may be enough for the government to file such charges against a defendant.

18-3-306 Internet Luring of a Child: A person can be charged with Internet luring of a child if he knowingly communicates on an electronic network, such as text messaging, e-mail or the Internet, explicit sexual conduct to a child under the age of 15, in an effort to persuade the child to meet for any purpose. The defendant must be more than four years older. At issue with this law is the fact the government can charge you for meeting for any purpose, unlike child enticement, which requires sexual intent.

Investigations, Entrapment & Colorado Luring Cases

Often it seems no two investigations are similar. Denver sex crimes defense attorneys frequently see such cases initiated by a volunteer organization, such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Such organizations comb the online world, and typically find the behavior they are looking for.

Once turned over to law enforcement, a criminal investigation is initiated. When officers rely upon information form a third-party in requesting search warrants or making arrests, such "evidence" must always be challenged by experienced defense counsel.

In other cases, law enforcement officers pose online as children. In such cases, an entrapment defense may be warranted. An entrapment defense means an officer coerced a defendant into committing a crime he would have otherwise not committed. Social studies continue to show most of us have few inhibitions in our online social world - it's why so many continue to get in trouble with bosses, coworkers, friends or family members over information posted on social networks. When investigators coerce or entrap a defendant into committing a crime, the resulting charges should be vigorously contested and may be reduced or dismissed as a result.

At the Law Office of Andres R. Guevara, we are committed to keeping you informed and involved in your defense and to fighting for the best outcome possible in your case. If you are facing sex charges in Denver or the surrounding areas, including Aurora, Boulder and Englewood, contact us today for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights.

Call 888-265-0044 or contact us through this website.

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• In the matter of L.C. (2012): Firm hired pre-arrest in a rape case. After extensive investigation, the district attorney's office agreed not to file charges.
• P. v. B.S: (2011). Arapahoe county trial, client accused of assaulting a police officer with an improvised flame thrower. Client acquitted of most serious charge of assault in the first degree.
• People v. M.K. (2011): Client charged with felony stalking and violations of orders of protection. Client acquitted of all counts.
• Araphoe County Attempted Murder trial, client accused of attempting to kill four individuals. Client acquitted of felony charges including all counts of Attempted Murder and client released.
• P. v. MM (2010): Arapahoe county case involving innocent client mistakenly charged with drug sale. Successfully argued for dismissal of case.
• P. v. C.B. (2010): Felony drug possession case. Successfully argued for suppression of drug evidence in case where police illegally entered an apartment under the pretense of conducting a child welfare check. Case dismissed.
• P. v. I (2010): Client charged with inciting a prison riot and faced long mandatory prison if convicted. Successfully negotiated plea for probation.
• P. v. B-G (2009): Arapahoe County felony case in which client was passenger in vehicle containing over 200 grams of cocaine. Over prosecution's objections, and despite the fact that a co-defendant received a two-year prison sentence, successfully argued to the judge for a sentence of probation.
• P. v. J. (2009): Felony identity theft case in Arapahoe County. Client wrongly accused of being involved in a scheme to defraud when in actuality client was a victim of the same scheme. Case dismissed.
• P. v. E. (2009): Client falsely accused by third party of illegal weapons possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Case dismissed after attorney investigation into accuser's background and the allegations.
• P. v. O (2009): Client charged as look-out for alleged felony cocaine drug sales. Case dismissed.
• P. v. C. (2008): Client accused of public indecency for changing clothes in a secluded part of a park. If convicted, client would have had to register as a sex offender. Client acquitted at trial of all counts.

Law Office of Andres R. Guevara
1733 High Street
Denver, CO 80218
Phone: 720-256-2306
Toll Free: 888-265-0044
Fax: 303-333-9493
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