So, when approached, one must take a determined stance to leave, if necessary.

What you are described is definitely wrong.

@Deena

Please believe me when I say I understand your viewpoint but there's a lot more to it. Like Advocate2 points out Florida does not perform these stings on sites where children are known to hang out or sites where child predators are known to frequent. Instead they target adults only sites to set the trap like the adult casual encounters section of Craigslist, Adult Friend Finder, DateHookUp and others. Even when they do target a site where adults and teens can mix like Tagged.com they make adult profiles instead of teen profiles.

On top of that in Florida you don't have to have any contact with a minor or anyone believed to be a minor to be arrested in a sting. The way the statutes are written you can speak to what you believe is an adult, agree to do something consensual with the adult and not a child in any way and still be arrested as long as you had knowledge a minor child would be present. The charges would be 847.0135(3)(b) which is soliciting a parent, guardian or custodian of a minor child, 847.0135(4)(b) which is traveling to meet a minor facilitated by a parent, guardian or custodian and 800.04(7) Lewd or Lascivious exhibition in the presence of a minor where "in the presence of" is defined as "see, hear or otherwise sense" the act is occurring.

The moral of the story is if you're talking about hooking up with an adult in Florida and the other adult mentions something like "My 14 year old daughter will be here with us is that ok?" stop talking immediately.

What really bothers me is Project Safe Childhood has identified a ton of sites where predators target children especially multi-player gaming sites but none of the sting operations target any of those sites.

That is correct – I have always said since these first starting happening that if this is such an issue why aren’t they catching the real criminals out there and saving real children? I have only heard once in the news that a real mother was arrested for soliciting her daughter for sex – buts hundreds of people – maybe thousands have been arrested in these stings. And to demonstrate how obsessed the cops are with these stings and catching someone = case in point - there is a young man in my son’s group that was talking with someone on line to ‘hook-up” All of the sudden the person revealed that she was 15 and the young guy (19) said he did not want to meet her – she persisted but he still said no. After much persistence he finally agreed to meet her but in the transcripts blatantly said to her you are too young and we cannot date. They set a meeting but the young man did not go to the meeting (it was in a neighboring county). Of course he got several messages from the ‘girl’ asking why he never showed up etc. A few weeks later the young man went into the neighboring county for a job interview and as soon as he crossed the county line was stopped and arrested (obviously they were watching him) and convicted for the intent to have sex with a minor. This kid is now on probation and the registry for life.
This whole INTENT thing is a bunch of crap. It means that we are no longer free to change our minds. If I am going to commit a crime but change my mind later the law says I still had the intent to commit the crime and in many cases I can be tried and convicted as if I actually committed the crime. Intent is just another way the judicial system has gotten out of hand. Now we are criminals if the law thinks we might commit a crime or thought about committing a crime. It is crap! But OneofThem is correct – nothing will change until everyone is fed up with the crap and I do not think that will happen until more and more people are affected by many of these laws. Actually if the SO numbers continue to grow like they are we shouldn’t have too long to wait.

"Real Criminals"? Criminal law is based on statutes - definitions - and not a moral of the "real". Who is a "real" criminal? Whoever answers that is just a stereo-typer. A "real" criminal is a subjective, make-believe concept... a demon, a bogeyman.

The everyday person doesn't think a police sting is morally right. He knows it is common entrapment. But he knows the cops can do it... and the cops and the lawyers understand the statutes that authorize its use and abuse. He doesn't.

But most criminals, real or imaginary, are POOR. Typically young and dumb. They have public defenders who meat grind them through the system. It may be nice headlines to talk of the 'professionals' caught in the stings... But who cares. Two people with careers out of fifty. Stings are attacks on the most vulnerable in our society: POOR PEOPLE. Give a prosecutor 50 young, dumb, or poor idiots in a child solicitation sting and he is gonna have to change his shorts...

We cannot show sympathy for ANY form of child abuse. This much I know. The battle is not against these stings, but against the current punishments. Jail, prison, and probation... those are the foundations of punishment. A sentencing issue, for sure. However, the real punishment here is the registry. The registry makes these "victimless" crimes a civil death sentence. These young, dumb, or poor idiots will be labeled child molesters FOR REAL. Yup, and for life....

Trying to catch idiots trying to hook up with 13yr olds? Gotta be done. Gotta be supported publicly, even if you hate it privately. The internet is here. It's not going away. The oppressors got their biggest toy yet.

You misunderstand – by real criminals I mean people that are looking for underage sex and the people that are soliciting their real teenagers. What I meant by that is that the problem doesn’t real exist at all! Certainly not in the scope and numbers that the media and cops would have us believe. If these crimes are really happening then let’s save the real children not manufactured ones! The cops are manufacturing the crime. Personally I do not consider someone over the age of 15 a child. Some are emotionally but many are not. I know this is not a popular belief but I personally do not consider a man being attracted to a 16-17 year old girl deviant behavior. Illegal – for sure but it is just normal human sexuality – some men (women too) control the impulses and some do not. You did totally misunderstand – I meant to convey that this crime is not a problem at all – the ‘real’ perpetrators do not exist at all until the cops make up the crime. By the way – in Florida I never hear of the stings being with 13 year olds – they are always over 14 and more often than not they are 15.
I agree with you that it is a sentencing problem however my point is that we wouldn’t have to go after people trying to hook up with minors if the cops did not manufacture the crime. And not only do they manufacture the crime they aggressively pursue it.
I do not think sex crimes are an economic issue (as far as the perps are concerned – I think you called most of them poor dumb people?) I think there are more poor people than not in the US and that accounts for some of it – I do not however, for a minute assume that because someone is poor they are dumb.

Advocate2,

You are so correct about 15 years olds not being children anymore and that men being attracted to a 17 year old not being deviant behavior.

A few months ago, my niece came over with another young lady for me to fix her computer. Her friend was attractive, nice-looking, and already had the physical build of a young woman; she had an hourglass figure. Not only was she cute, but she was physically endowed. My grandson was there and I noticed that she kept giving him that look with that flirty smile---in other words, she was coming on to my grandson in a minor way. I guessed she was about 19 or 20 years old. Not only did she appear to be old enough to be entering college, her mannerisms and the way she talked made me think that she was probably in college.

Later my niece called about her computer and mentioned that her friend liked my dog and was thinking about getting a dog like mine. My neice mentioned that her friend's mom said she could get one when she entered high school, to which I asked, "How old is your friend?" My niece said that she was 14 years old.

My how times have changed. When I was a young man, a 14 year old girl was tom-boyish, gawky, with no hips or breasts to speak of---and anything but a sexy little creature. And they certainly did not know how to make all the moves and talk in a flirty tone. Hell, the 14 year olds in my generation were very naive and did not know much of anything about sex at all. We did know that it was how babies were made, but only vaguely. Very few of the kids of my generation had had sex when they were 14 years old---many had never kissed someone else other than their mom or dad.

The young ladies today, the underaged ones, know so much more and are more worldly than the ones I grew up with. It is no wonder that many guys get caught up with a 15 year old----hell, they have everything they need to be a sexy little thing. And on the internet, I am sure they can talk the talk needed to lure guys in.

This country really needs to lower the age of consent to at least 16 in all states.

rewdiazepam

I guess I got this up just in time for Shady Grady to strike again.

http://tinyurl.com/o4j9cn5

oh yeah - made me sick what he said on TV about this one - the guy makes me ill!!!

My blood pressure is definitely up on this one. No matter what these people did or did not do it's no excuse for Judd to go around cracking jokes. These people have innocent family members that don't deserve his ridicule. I realize we're talking about Judd, the sheriff that likes to pepper spray juveniles in detention but singing "Love is in the air" on camera while watching somebody get arrested? Seriously?

Judd is just a publicity seeking clown; there is not a speck of professionalism in his body. I have know many people in law enforcement over the years and most of them have some semblence of professionalism concerning their work---but not this guy.

He is just a immature cop playing games at expense of the arrested and his family. It is even debatable that any "real" law officer would partake in these silly internet stings anyway. Most serious police officers want to fight real crime on the streets.

rewdiazepam

I am serious the guy makes me physically ill - he is a clown you are correct. There has to be some of the citizens in Polk that see this? You cannot tell me that the majority of those cops do not cringe when he gets on the television and spouts that crap! He always calls them pedophiles which just shows his absolute ignorance! You know I have seen people like him before and if he is that way about the people he arrests I can guarantee you he belittles his own officers - that is how folks like him operate. I am telling you what goes around comes around and I believe it is only a matter of time before we hear about him in the other side of the news! And I for one will do a little dance! There is no call to be crass! Did he really pepper spray the juvies? I did not know about that one! Did the parents sue? They should!

Check this out on Snopes where Grady justified shooting a suspect 68 times! He actually said that is all the bullets we had!!! And people in his county think that is ok???? I don't care what the guy did! It is so unbelievable that Snopes has to have a page about it???

http://www.snopes.com/crime/cops/judd.asp

By the way when he was first going to run for sheriff the paramedics and EMT's that he used to work with started an all out campaign to stop him from being elected. They could not stand him! I used to be an EMT for many years and I know some of these folks - I did not know Judd though.

Here's a couple of articles on Judd's pepper spray policy.

http://tinyurl.com/lcmhdya

http://tinyurl.com/lekof5t

I saw my cousin in the first time in many years. We were discussing getting married early. She told me she was 15 and her husband 17 was when they got married. they ran away to Georgia where you could marry without parents permission in those days. I told her husband he would be a sex offender in today's world! He couldn't believe it...