Technological advances have made it much easier for law enforcement to run sting operations.  The most prevalent internet sting operations are operations that involve the creation of sex crimes against minors while utilizing the internet, social media apps, and online gaming.  In a sex sting operation, law enforcement creates a crime for vulnerable or susceptible individuals to commit.  The goal for law enforcement in these operations is to target people looking to meet and have sex with minors.  However, the net that is cast by law enforcement includes websites where vulnerable and lonely adults go to innocently meet another adult and have no interest in meeting minors.  The aggressive and strategic tactics used by law enforcement to target those with actual propensities sometimes hit on these vulnerable adults who had no intention to meet with a minor. Charges that stem from these sting operations in Arizona include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Attempted Sexual Conduct of a Minor, a class 3 felony, A.R.S. § 13-1405;
• Aggravated Luring of a Minor, a class 2 felony, A.R.S. 13-3506(A); 
• Child Sex Trafficking, a class 2 felony, A.R.S. § 13-3212, or a class 5 felony, A.R.S. § 13-3212(B)(3); 
• Luring a Minor for Sexual Exploitation, a class 3 felony, A.R.S. § 13-3554; 
• Furnishing Harmful Items to Minors – Internet Activity, a class 4 felony, A.R.S. § 13-3506.01; 
• Money Laundering in the first degree, a class 2 felony, in the second degree, a class 3 felony, and in the third degree, a Class 6 felony, A.R.S. § 13-2317.

Individuals stung by these operations are penalized harshly in Arizona.  Possible penalties in Arizona for these offenses include, but are not limited to, prison or jail time, sex offender probation (up to a possibility of lifetime probation), and/or sex offender registration. Law enforcement, in conjunction with the prosecuting agency, often share information about the operation with the media, including names and pictures of those arrested to deter others from engaging in similar behavior. 

The typical progression of a sex sting operation is as follows:  an undercover detective posts an ad online that is geared to lure potential offenders to engage with the online persona.  Once engaged, the undercover detective usually pretends to be either a young person that is bored, lonely, or looking for companionship.  Eventually, through crafty conversations, the undercover detective creates an environment that allows for the topic of sex to dominate the conversation.  Law enforcement’s goal is to get someone who shows interest to agree to a meeting for the sexual encounter.  When the person shows up for the meeting, he/she is arrested.  After the arrest, detectives will attempt to conduct an audio and video recorded interview of the person.  The goal of the interview is to gather additional evidence to hopefully show the person’s intentions and that the encounter was not a mistake.  They will also obtain the person’s phone and anything on his/her person or in his/her vehicle that might support the charges.  Detectives often apply for a warrant to search the contents of the cell phone seeking evidence that might support the charges, or similar acts from the past.    

Nevertheless, sex sting operations come in all different varieties.  Thus, the only way to avoid being stung in a sex sting operation involving minors is to NOT engage in interactions with minors and to always confirm the age of the person that you are interacting with to ensure they are an adult.  Here are some tell-tale signs a person may have been stung, or is about to be stung, by a sex sting operation:

1. The person communicated with an underage person on a website, chat room, online game, and/or an apps such as Locanto, Skout, MeetMe, Bumble, LiveMe, Ask.fm, Grindr, Holla, Badoo, Whisper, Craigslist, Facebook Messenger, Hot or Not, Omegle, Hoop, Tinder, ChatRoulette, and/or Kik; 
2. The person being communicated with says they are a minor, but their profile says something different;
3. The person being communicated with asks to switch to a mobile phone;
4. The offer of a sexual encounter sounds too good to be true;
5. The person being communicated with steers the person into a conversation about sex and gets the person to specify specific acts they want done;
6. The person’s use of language is overly sophisticated for the age group they are portraying to be; 
7. The person’s language is dumb-downed with slang, misspellings and shorthand to mimic a minor’s language;
8. The person being communicated with says they are a runaway, or their parents are out of town;
9. The person tells you his/her “real” age; has you acknowledge that you understood their age; and/or asks you if you are okay with the age;
10. The person offers their child for sex;
11. The person asks to exchange photos;
12. The person asks the other to bring a specific item to demonstrate the acknowledgement of the person being underage such as cigarettes or beer;
13. The person being communicated with asks to meet in a public place; and/or
14. The person asks very specific questions about what you will be driving or wearing.

While not all online interactions between consenting adults are illegal, when a person knows or learns that he/she is interacting with a minor online, yet still pursues a sexual relationship with said minor, then that person is subject to the laws prohibiting these interactions in Arizona.  This is the case even in sex sting operations where there is no actual minor victim being harmed.  

If you believe you may have had one of these interactions, you should contact an attorney right away.  Castillo Law has experienced attorneys who can help.   You may reach us 24/7 at 480-206-5204 to discuss your case with our attorneys and how we may be of assistance to your situation.  By providing this information, Castillo Law does not condone children being victimized by adults.