originally posted 8/14/2008
As a freshman away at college, my son at 19 was arrested by a cybernet sting conducted by the State Attorney General’s office together with the County Sheriff . After participating in Yahoo Teen Chat (no longer supported by Yahoo due to abuse by law enforcement officials) my son was contacted days later by one of the AG’s task force who misrepresented themselves as a 14 year old girl. The initial transcripts provided by Yahoo and filed with the court confirmed that the AG’s office had initiated contact, but after this “error” was discovered, a “corrected” transcript was provided and accepted by the court. Entrapment by law enforcement officers is legally nearly impossible to prove, so my son accepted a plea bargain and was given five years probation for an offense against a fictitious girl conjured up by law enforcement officials who initiated internet contact with my son and entrapped him into meeting during which he was arrested at gunpoint and thrown down on the pavement. My son’s photo was aired on local television stations immediately. The State AG proudly displayed his photo and personal information as an arrested predator. Here is yet another political “scalp” for an ambitious politician.
This also happened to a friend of mine and he never left his house. Told them he would go meet them but did not go anywhere. Victimless crime and registers for life. The charge even states attempted. Does a person who commits murder get the same sentence as a person that attempts murder. A person murders another person, no registry and there is a victim. Once your time is served, that should be it. That is the way it is supposed to be. People make mistakes, people screw up but punishing people for life is in my opinion wrong. This registry needs to be gone. The public doesn’t need to have this information. It is only asking for vigilantly type things to happen.
I can understand your plight. That very same thing happened to me only I was on an adult chat site in yahoo. Sure I was conned and entrapped in some ways even induced to meet when I had told her the first night that I don’t meet anyone on the internet. They know how to con and lie to coax someone. its almost like coaxing one into a traffic ticket or speed trap. Law enforcement and American justice I am afraid has been lost in America today. One can’t have justice without the truth and that is what it all boils down too.