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Defendant WINS in Federal Internet Sting Prosecution
We all hear about these police stings, where law enforcement officers post or respond to ads on ADULT dating sites and then, after engaging in a sexually charged conversation and some strong leading, pull a “switch-a-roo” and announce the fictitious person is fictitiously under-age.
We all know what usually happens; the feds threaten decades in prison but offer a plea deal that, given the risk, most defendants grab. In fact 97% of prosecutions go this way.
Well a Georgia man stood up and fought back! Facing a minimum mandatory 10 years in prison, he took his case to trial AND WON!
Story is below:
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It took a federal jury slightly more than an hour Wednesday to find an Auburn, Ala., man accused of being a child sexual predator not guilty.
Ji Won Kim, 26 was one of 21 men arrested in November as part of a multi-law enforcement agency sting in which investigators posed as children online. Though he was arrested by Columbus Police in early November, Kim was indicted Nov. 16 on the federal charge of attempted online enticement of a minor.
He was tried this week in the Middle District of Georgia in front of Judge Clay Land this week.
If convicted, Kim would have faced a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and a maximum term of life in prison and/or a $250,000 fine up to a lifetime term of supervised release, and mandatory sex offender registration if he had been convicted.
Kim’s attorney, Bernard Brody of Atlanta, said the case should never have gone to trial. Some of the jurors hugged Kim outside the downtown Columbus courthouse when the three-day trial was over.
The prosecution contended Kim drove from Auburn to Atlanta for the purposes of having sex with a 14-year-old girl he had met online. Kim’s defense was he did not know the girl was 14 and that she led him to believe by an online photo and a phone conversation that she was much older.
The jury of seven women and five men got the case at 11 a.m. and returned an acquittal at 12:25 p.m.
“The jury agreed that Ji Won was not a predator and had no intention or desire to meet a 14-year-old girl,” Bernard said. “Also, they found that Ji Won clearly did not believe she was 14, which is what the government was required to prove at trial.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia issued a brief statement. The prosecutor was Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals.
“We are disappointed with the verdict but we respect the jury’s decision,” said spokesperson Pamela W. Lightsey.
Kim is the first of the defendants arrested in the sting called “Operation Hidden Guardian” to go to trial. At least four of the defendants have entered guilt pleas in front of Land: Kenneth Jordan, 29, of Columbus; Edwin Nieves, 55, of Columbus; Christopher McGowan, 32, of Mechanicsburg, Pa; and Dereck Weldon, 30, of Columbus.
Each man pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, a felony that carries a possible fine and up to five years in prison.
During Operation Hidden Guardian, which launched Nov. 9, investigators posing as children had more than 600 exchanges with people on various online platforms, including social media and chat rooms. In more than 400 of those exchanges, the suspect initiated contact with the “child” and directed the conversation toward sex.
The agencies involved in the investigation were the Columbus Police Department, Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office for the the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit, and the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
The operation fell under a task force called the Internet Crimes Against Children, which was started by the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Brody said.
The operation, at least in Kim’s case, was flawed, Brody said.
“He responded to an ad on Backpage.com looking for a prostitute,” Brody said. “The ad was created by ICAC and it contained pictures of Hayleee Peacock, a 26 year-old GBI agent. “According to the agents, many people responded to the ad who were not looking for children but most of them turned away once the agent said she was 14.”
Ji Won initially asked the agent to send him a selfie so he could be sure that the picture in the ad was real as many ads on Backpage contain fake pictures, Brody said. The agent said she was 14 and he was shocked since he had never run into a minor on Backpage before.
“She then sent the selfie of herself and it was clear that she was at least in her 20s,” Brody said. “Then he called back and said, ‘You’re not really 14, right?’ she stuttered and he then realized she was lying. Although she kept saying she was 14, he decided to go out to the house anyway. She was very attractive and he just was sure that she was not 14. He then got arrested and told the agents that he in no way believed she was 14, pointing to the ad, the selfie, her voice, etc.”
A search of Kim’s phone showed no evidence of child pornography or any communications with minors, according to evidence presented at trial.
Kim was born in South Korea and moved to the United States when he was 12. He graduated from Auburn High School, and was in the final semester at Georgia Tech. He earned his engineering degree in December, but was not able to walk for the graduation because he was in jail.
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I’m a 49 year old family man and 20 year retired veteran, who’s never been in trouble with the law in my life.
I got caught up in one of these stings in Georgia (probably the same folks in the article). Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford an attorney and had to go with a public defender. Also, unfortunately, I was convicted and sentenced to serve 2 years of 15, and have to look forward to being a registered sex offender for the next 25 years for nothing more than having a conversation online. First time brush with law enforcement and our criminal judicial system.
Currently, I’m attempting to appeal and have my conviction overturned based on inadequate defense from my public defender. The trial judge has already denied my appeal, so we’re moving on to the state court of appeals. I’m concerned about what my options are if my appeal is denied again.
Isn’t there anything that can be done to have these sorts of operations banned across the country? Like maybe some sort of lawsuit or legal action against the government?
This page truly has all of the information and facts I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Hi Marlene – http://www.ssrepentance.com/resources/helpful-websites/ under ‘law enforecment websites.
LadyJusticeMyth
Marlene – I am here to help support you. I replied to your email but the address bounced as undeliverable. Please reach out again so I can find you!
This was a very interesting article. I was caught up in an online sting by the county sheriff’s department here in texas back in july of 2014. I was arrested, served 90 days in county jail and was released when the DA rejected the charge. My PD told me to be thankful and live my life. My truck was impounded and auctioned off, I was counted AWOL during the 90 days in jail from my Nationa Guard unit which forced me to lose my retirement after 17 years of service as well as I was kicked out of college with three semesters from completing a bachelors degree. Fast forward two and a half years and I had just recieved my CDL and was at an orientation for a truck driving position for a national logistics company when I was pulled from the orientation and told my background check came back with an open felony warrant. To reapply when I got it taken care of. I went back to that county only to find out from a bondsman that the warrent was already filed as served. After the bondsman called the court, the warrant was reinstated and I paid on a $20,000 bond, self surrendered, booked, released, then paid $7,500 for a lawyer. That lawyer wouldn’t do anything until an indictment came down which happened 12 days after the 3 year SOL expired. I asked my lawyer about the SOL and he told me the indictment was good. The process kept being pushed back until finally after a year I was able to convince my lawyer to file a motion to dismiss due to SOL violation. The ADA didn’t argue and the motion was sustained but then the ADA said they would come back to court in two weeks with another indictment, bond request, and warrant. Two weeks later they did file an ammemded indictment stating when the initial warrant two years earlier that was filed in a different court tolled the SOL. At that point I retained another lawyer for another $15,000. He filed a motion to dismiss becaise of the SOL violation but the court denied the motion. My last court date was scheduled but was postponed this time because of the covid19 lockdown. So I am now at two months shy of six years after my initial arrest and three years and three months since the initial complaint was filed. I have been in contact with a bondsman every other week for the past three years and don’t have a new court date set. Something tells me that there is probably no other case from an arrest from a conducted sting that has lasted over 6 years and still not gone before a jury trial. I have gone through every emotion imaginable but do believe that justice wil prevail. I’m even at the point of looking into suing someone responsible for this mess for violating my civil liberties.
That’s CRAZY John. OK, all of these are crazy but wow. I’d love to chat more if you could please write me at ladyjusticemyth@gmail.com.
I just saw this and was going to tell you about this. What a horrible example of how completely messed up our judicial system is, and I’m quite certain it’s pertaining to Pro-Active On-line Sex-Stings. MKK
I’m sorry for all that you are going through with this mess John. I too have been caught up in a sting here in Texas. I think most of us here have felt the despair that you must be feeling. I hope that it all goes well for you and that you are able to sue. Money is a huge reason that these stings are done. The more we can make it cost them the better.
Good luck, Tom.
We know for a fact that there is a a lot of dishonesty and corruption involved in these sex sting operation cases in Texas. We have hard core proof of some of this.
Many defense attorneys in Texas, I would say most, are part of this scam. It all comes down to money. I firmly believe it’s also a part of helping cover for the sex trafficking business that many people working in the system are making money off of. I don’t doubt one bit that this also involves the victimization of minors.
They are creating fake “child predators” to make it look like they are protecting children, when in reality they are doing the opposite.
The State Bar of Texas is behind this too. This is why they are able to get away with all the dishonesty and corruption involved in these cases. The state bar is helping cover for all the dishonesty and corruption involved in all this. It’s Texas DPS, the State Bar, and I’m sure there are higher government officials behind it as well. It all comes down to money.
They are using gaslighting to create doubt and confusion in people to ensure they get the convictions they are desperate for. Gaslighting is what dangerous individuals use to get what they want, at the high cost of hurting others.
Defense attorneys & TX State Bar are behind online stings? That’s quite a claim. How would that even work?
Do the defense attorneys who promote online stings, get those same cases referred to them? How?
Texas State Bar Association revenues come from member dues collected from Texas attorneys. If the Texas State Bar promotes online stings, do they collect more dues?
We have one Texas defense attorney, Richard Gladden, who semi-regularly shares his comments here. Has anyone asked him about this alleged phenomenon with defense attorneys and online stings?
Jacob, if you want more details I can provide that for you. Would like to email me for more details?
Yes, they are behind the dishonesty and corruption of forcing convictions for money purposes. Is that really hard to believe?
Dig into into. I’m sure you’ll find out even more than just what we know, if you really take a good look at it.
Like I said, we have plenty of undeniable proof. That’s what it all points to.
Look at the facts first, then decide if this is really impossible like you seem to think.
Hi Jacob – Aracely has dealt with this in TX. I have only dealt with WA, but I can back her on many of her statements. I cannot say that the defense attys or state bar is behind the stings in WA, but they DEFINITELY know whats going on and turn a blind eye. The public defenders cant do anything – they are paid by the same government that gives money to fund the stings directly – as are the prosecutors and judges. Private Defense lawyers are the ones who can actually break this open, if allowed, but are usually blocked by the judges. Yes, it sounds like a huge conspiracy theory but in reality this is just another form of organized crime.
The cops are paid big bucks by the state and fed govt to make and prosecute arrests of sex crimes (guilty or not). Additional funds come into the state thru court fees, state facilities (jails, prisons, bondsmen, etc), and the infrastructure that supports all these places and services. That money paying the judges and prosecutors. All the while the public does not know that all this money rides on the backs of innocent men in the case of these sex stings. Set ups have ALWAYS happened to men of color, now its just happening to whites as well and in an ‘in your face’ way.
Same way here it’s been three years for this crap for something they did and blaming me for I can’t afford a lawyer I’m disable so looks like I’ll be in prison for no reason and never been in trouble before im49
I feel for you brother and definately hope it goes well for you. Just FYI as an update with my situation, I was planning and ready to go to trial in my case this past august, 7 years after my initial arrest, when the DA offered 5 years deferred adjudication and additional 10 years on the state SO registry. I ended up taking that plea deal even though I felt I had a great chance of winning an appeal on the statute of limitations. However, with the over $25,000 already spent on two lawyers and the fact that I need to stay here to help my 70+ year old mother, I didn’t want to wait for the appeals process while not being able to help out my mom. I figured with the deferred adjudication any felony paperwork will be wiped out after my 5 years of probation was good enough for me. I concur with others in rhis thread that say do not talk to any law enforcement without an attorney present, do your own research just to verify what your lawyer advises, and keep the faith. This system is definately screwed up and it sucks to get pulled into it. I’m actually learning quite a lot in my probation group counseling sessions that are helping with other areas in my life. Just keep positive and make the best out of the situation. God only gives us what we can handle and it’s good to be reminded that even though we might not understand at the time why, but there is a greater purpose in every struggle. Best of luck to you brother.
Please email me at d.reeves6384@gmail.com. i am being charged with solicitation of a minor for pictures. The profile is of a woman that is 20. But then later says she is 15 and and i asked for 2 pictures. We didnt speak for a year then i found her profile again and started talking and we decided to meet foe lunch and talk. I was then arrested when i showed up. I dont believe there is an actual minor and that it is an agent posing as 15. I live in tn and wanna know if fhat is considered entrapment.
Damion. I HIGHLY recommend the only person you speak with and disclose case details to is your lawyer. PLEASE. Especially while your case is pending.
FAC
Is there any way that you could help by starting a list of attorneys in each state that are experienced in handling cases related to sex offenses. I would like to hire an attorney but because of my past experience with them I don’t want to waist a lot of time and money just to find out they don’t know what there doing. I know I could prove my innocence , but need a good attorney or maybe just a private investigator.
We maintain a list on our resources page.
Am caught up in sting operation, where all the evidence has been doctored to fit the narrative and can discredit what is being said as they don’t have evidence backing what they have said literally just the word of this supposedly credible detective, and the fact I can clearly prove they planted evidence and there no actual original messages from the app. We talked on, all screenshots from there phones which they had scroll locked to not show the age they had put , which absolutely doesn’t match what they put in the report. My lawyer said not to question it that the prosecutor has gone to the minimum 5 years. I am disabled as well with grand mal seizures and have been proactive as hell to find about my meds, have talked to the Deputy Medical Director as to alternatives offered because I am on medication that hasn’t even been out more then 2 years there are no generics or alternatives off, The Deputy Director actually said he could only give me one of the medications and would be serious issue on the other 2 medications and he wanted to talk to my neurologist to talk about other alternatives which I have tried every medication available and there are 2 that I have had the most extreme side effects one being suicide, I committed suicide in 2016 from Kepra reaction was on it for 2 weeks and one day just got up went outside and hung myself am lucky wife found me and kept compressions as I had no pulse, kepra is one of the prisons primary alternatives. So not only am I getting screwed on the case I have to worry about my seizures going out of control that could leave me with major deficits or even death. As all the Deputy Director could say is that he is sorry but would look into what he could do as he admitted they could not give adequate care by giving me just 1 of my three medications. I don’t know what do as I am absolutely terrified of dying a excruciating death.
Im so very sorry to hear about your situation. Please feel free to email me directly at ladyjusticemyth@gmail.com.
Two members of our group just had their cases dismissed, one up in WA state, and one in Arizona, due to the police not having kept all of the evidence. If they do not have some of the evidence, which is true in most of these cases, you have to fight with an attorney for full discovery. That is the first piece, until they give you all the evidence – not just what they retained – your lawyer should be fighting. The second piece is to have an investigator. They will find texts manipulated, privacy laws broken, etc that your attorney should present and argue in court. And lastly, this IS entrapment, you have to argue it. The police are using enticement, not ‘merely affording the opportunity’. It is untrue that you must admit intent to use the entrapment defense. Find a competent lawyer and be prepared to fight!
John’s Doe:
Do not take their plea. You will more than likely regret it if you do, like many do in these cases. You can’t trust your lawyer in this. He’s already shown you, you should not trust him on this. Like you said, you have proof that they fabricated evidence, and your lawyer is clearly trying to shut you up about it. That’s pretty typical in these cases. Not sure if the defense lawyers get in trouble or something for winning these cases, but it certainly appears to be that way.
These convictions keeps their funding and helps them maximize the funding they receive from the federal ICAC grant program and very likely other funding as well. They have to create high number of convictions for this. It also looks bad on them if they fail at prosecuting the cases of arrests they make for this. They don’t want their dirty secrets exposed. So, you have to fight hard to make sure you EXPOSE what they are desperately trying to keep you from exposing.
Hire a different attorney. If it’s an appointed one, write to the judge and request a different attorney. Let the them know you have proof of fabricated evidence and this lawyer is refusing to use it. Report the lawyer to the state bar for it.
I know those are big steps, but that’s what it takes to expose them. If you don’t expose them, they win, and it’s very easy for them to get away with it.
EXPOSE, EXPOSE, EXPOSE
Are you familiar with our group? Visit Cage.fyi
You can reach out to us through the website.
Whoa… we can’t tell others whether to take a plea or not. The only person John Doe should be consulting with is his attorney. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly admire anyone who stands up and fights their case, but Mr. Doe and everyone reading this should not take legal advise from this forum, from FAC or anybody other than their attorney. If John is not happy with his attorney, he should certainly consult with another attorney, but only an attorney licensed in Florida (or whatever Jurisdiction Mr. Doe’s case is from), who has reviewed the case, should be advising him. If, the result is he rejects the plea and fights his case, we’ll be here rooting for him.
Aracely….
First is , “To Go To Trial OR Not Go To Trial”; in Most Cases, Similar to Mine in the Aforementioned, I was Told by ‘Experts’ That I would Be ‘WACKED’, even though Clearly Fabrication Existed (2012)-but, than, could not be proven by ‘Forensic Computer Experts’ at that Time…..While, -In, Today’s Forensic Computer Environment, It can NOW be detected! So I had to “walk the plank”
So Everyone’s Case, Is Really Independent of One Another’s as Each One’s Cases ‘Have Different Darts Thrown At Them, at Different Times’
I was convicted in one of these stings and I never thought cops would be online in adult sites/chatrooms pretending to be minors. Crazy we are considered to be perverts trolling for minors when an adult was Trolling adults pretending to be a minor.
Actually most of these case ARE the same. Law Enforcement have a formula, they follow it and are very successful at their sham. Sometimes they mess up, many times not. Where there is evidence missing/deleted/mistakes one maybe able to get a dismissal or great reduction in a plea. The big thing is the STATE. Where did it occur. If in WA State, the 60 months sounds like a familiar plea, that is they want in all these cases; 5 years. Dismissals are rare, as are wins in trials so keep that in mind. If you have “planted” or “mistakes” in evidence that is a good sign of shoddy work and your chance to win increases; an investigator will be helpful going to trial or no. Also planted evidence would be criminal! You have to weigh the plea vs going to trial. Look at MINIMUM sentence range as your starting point. If plea is 60 months and MINIMUM range is 76.5 months that is probably worth the trial (pending conditions). That is what many are in WA State. For no criminal history they won’t give you more than the MINIMUM range (>90% of the time). If you are YOUNG you can get youth mitigation, but sounds like not for you. Federal cases are VERY TOUGH. I would recommend not messing with those, they have 10 year minimum on child enticement. It is insane. I would avoid a federal case at all cost. There is NO easy answer, once you are caught up in their system there is NO easy out. Everything comes at a cost. The pain for this will be long. My condolences. Check out my site for how to fight these and lots of related articles: http://www.ssrepentance.com
-Samuel
John Doe
I know what you are saying is believable. My son has diabetes he had a driving ticket, but didn’t show up because he was in a diabetic coma for three weeks. When he got out of the hospital he went back to work. As he was getting ready to pull into his driveway from work ,he got stopped by police because of a tail light out. They ran a check and saw he had a unpaid ticket so put him in jail. He had no money because of being out of work for a month. He couldn’t pay bail. $150.00 . What was worse they would not let him take his insulin because they said they couldn’t confirm what was in the bottle. They took it from him. He didn’t want to call me at first but did the next day. He was getting weaker and would have been back into a coma again within hours or dead within 24.
Your life means nothing to them. The only thing that does is money and promotions.
I bailed him out and paid his ticket. If you don’t get someone who is interested in your well being you don’t have a chance. The system is rigged against you. They have all the cards and it’s a marked deck. It’s only fair in the public’s imagination. The fact that they get away with it 95% of the time emboldens them to keep doing what they do. When they do get caught they just laugh it off with no accountability.
That’s what you’re up against.
I know because I’ve been threw it. Don’t trust them or anything they say and if there are any red flags with your attorney don’t trust him, get another one . It’ll cost you more money in the long run but you’ll have your life.
Wish someone had given me that advice 25 years ago.
JUst read about you and Jace and wonder how it goes.
Hi Mark – we await what should be an overturned conviction through appeal on a procedural step. Then we get to play with their monkeys, in their circus, all over again. Are you in a similar situation? I’d be happy to read your story if you’d like to write me at ladyjusticemyth@gmail.com.
What advice do you have for someone who believes they were involved in a sting that happened yesterday and have yet to be confronted with the reality of their text messaging involved through an online dating app?
A sting that happened YESTERDAY? Talk ONLY to a lawyer.
AGREED!!! DO NOT SPEAK TO ANYONE OTHER THAN A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND GET A GOOD ONE NOW!!!
Dear Hopingthings are ok – I would love to talk with you in more detail – can you email me at ladyjusticemyth.blog
To answer your question – let me start with the most important. IF you are arrested the only thing you say to the police is Lawyer. Absolutely do not try to cooperate or prove your innocence. They do not care. It is not their job to prove or disprove and they will twist, some even lie, to get their conviction for their prosecutor.
Second – back up ALL your messages, your profile, the profile you answered, emails. Everything that has occurred. Put all that info together now and give it all to someone you trust. Reason – info will ‘go missing’ – AKA deleted, that can show a logical reason for your assumptions. Like the profile was of an adult – they showed a pic of an adult – etc. additionally it will show them leading you to explicit sex descriptions. It will also show. Among other things. What I would be prepared for is the persona to reach out to you again. Call you names, try to get you to reconnect by any means necessary. This happens a lot. Respond one time with ‘I am not interested in any communication with a minor’. Then completely stop corresponding. Again, making a copy of all attempts they have made to ‘reel you back in’. Again store this out of your house with someone you trust. Remembering, the only thing you EVER say to them is ‘I WANT A LAWYER’. Never consent to a search. Do not sign anything. Do not agree to an interview. Do not take a polygraph. Nothing. It is a farce, it is all a part of their trap.
Congrats on spotting this and taking proactive measures. Please do write me – i’d like to get details as I try to let others know what has happened in these case. Much love and support.
And by “giving that info to someone you trust,” we mean, your lawyer. Don’t put anyone else in the position of possessing that info, even if it seems mostly innocent to you.
See FAC’s attorney referral page if unsure who to contact.
Don’t talk to police. Don’t answer any of their questions. Don’t trust anything they tell you. They are allowed to lie all they want, and they do it a lot. They will take anything and everything you say and twist it into exactly what they want it to be. They are not interested in any truth at all, not if it goes against what they want. They are only interested in making it all look like exactly what they want. They will never accept that they are wrong about anything.
Don’t give them any kind of opportunity to force you to make up and say the things they desperately want and need you to say (for their own purposes). They will do this if they see that opportunity. Don’t fall for any of that. Don’t believe them when they are pretending to be nice and pretending to be trying to help you.
If you don’t talk to them at all, it makes the case against you much harder because they won’t have anything from you that they can twist into what they want, etc, which is what they do all the time. If you answer any of their questions it will make it so much harder to prove your innocence. Police can lie all they want, and they do because they know that most people will believe them over believing you.
One note, be careful about Lawyers too. They are not always your advocate. I’ve seen many people get a lawyer and have to fire the lawyer. I’ve seen lawyers sit and do nothing, try to wait it out. I’ve seen lawyers not try to argue for the best plea possible in these stings. Many of these stings are not beatable. Be very careful–you will be your best advocate as are those who are going through these stings. Not the police, prosecutor, nor lawyer. Being informed is your best bet.
Samuel Washington
You are 100% correct. Especially if it’s a court appointed lawyer. The prosecution basically chooses them because they know it’ll be a push over by using them. And they won’t give the prosecution any resistance.
The problem is most people in this situation are there for the first time and are not educated on how the system works and the prosecution knows it . So they screw you over big time knowing your ignorance on the matter. After it’s too late you learn how it works.
Even the prosecution acts like what you’re accused of isn’t a big deal until they have destroyed your life and it’s too late .
Right now your best defense is anonymity. Don’t contact anyone except a lawyer. If the lawyer needs evidence, let them gather it. Don’t share case details with anyone without their approval. It is entirely possible that boards like this can be monitored by LE. Who knows, if they can fake a social media profile, they can fake being a supportive user on a board like this. I would be wary of anyone wanting to make direct communication with you right now.
Hopefully you haven’t not been baited into a trap that could cost you your freedom and a future free from the unwalled prison of the registry. Best wishes and stay out of trouble!
I disagree with your assessment – if this WAS a sting he has no anonymity. Talking to a trusted lawyer, if you can afford one, is definitely a good idea. But having been through a proactive sting myself taking action AFTER the police make a move is not a good idea. You need to be ready. You need to know to not talk at all. You need all pertinent info stored so it cannot be deleted or manipulated. Be safe, take care, protect yourself!
anyone have the case number or state for “” when law enforcement use the expressed or implied promise of sex it violates due process”
found the quote but cant find case.
Kathleen still fighting against KY
sons got his Supreme court papers ready in case appeal goes south
You go John!!
I’m sorry I do not have that case number…here are some others though…
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
A “heckler’s veto” can not be used to declare someone’s sexually explicit speech illegal on an adult website just because an undercover officer arbitrarily states they are a minor.Gennette vs. State, 1D12-3407 (Sept. 13, 2013)
The law does not tolerate government action to provoke a law-abiding citizen to commit a crime in order to prosecute him or her with that crime.People v. Aguirre, No. G045009 (CA 4th DCA, April 5, 2012)
Our analysis suggests the government should not be in the business of testing the will of law-abiding citizens with elaborate (if improbable) fantasies of sensuous teenagers desperate to engage in sexual acts with random middle-aged men.Lusby v. State 507 So.2d 611 (1987)
We do not condone general forrays into the population at large by government agents to question at random the citizenry of this country to test their law abiding nature, i.e., virtue testing.Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369 (1958)
Entrapment occurs only when the criminal conduct was “the product of the creative activity” of law enforcement officials.Sorrells v. United States, 287 U.S. 435 (1932)
Literal interpretation of statutes at the expense of the reason of the law and producing absurd consequences or flagrant injustice has frequently been condemned.Farley v. State, 848 So.393 (Fla. 4th DCA, 2003)
…Farley was not involved in an existing criminal undertaking in need of detection by law enforcement; rather, LEACH sought to manufacture crime based on a list of names and addresses of unknown origin.Beattie v. State, 636 So.2d 744 (Fla. 2nd DCA, 1994)
It is undisputed that law enforcement did not know Beattie for any deviant activity or involvement with child pornography until he responded to the advertisement. Customs did not target individuals when it placed the advertisement in the publication.State v. Glosson, 462 So. 2d 1082 (1985)
Prosecutions that have a financial incentive violate due process.Case not remembered:
When law enforcement use the expressed or implied promise of sex it violates due process.
Love and support,
Kathleen
Thank you for your blog.
I posted a question, but not sure if I did it right, so here it is again:
Does anyone know of any current Washington State Appellate attorneys that are currently or have handled cases like this (successfully)?
Thanks for your input.
The best one has retired but she won 2 out of 3 cases she brought before Appellate courts. Lenell Nussbaum. The other person who won was Jason Saunders. Entrapment. That is your best shot. Some have gotten some conditions adjusted but not too much else. The FINAL entrapment decision will be made by the Supreme Court very soon in 2022 (maybe Jan/Feb time-frame). This SHOULD be allowed and will help these cases a bit more. Good luck.
I think a big part of the problem has been just finding attorneys who really understand what ICAC task forces are doing to trap men for this scam and accepting that it is a scam.
Most of them are just accepting excuses like:
“The men should have stopped communicating with the person claiming to be a minor.”
“They could have reported the minor.”
“They could have called police.”
“The men were not tricked because the person made it clear they were a minor.” Etc.
All of them are lame excuses to not use the entrapment defense. All of these cases (where the men were trapped in adult content places online) are cases of entrapment.
My favorite is: “No one forced the men to continue talking to them and to show up.”
They certainly did FORCE their own sick fantasies on the men about minors being so desperate for sex that they apparently are using adult content places to find random men online to demand sex from those strangers. How is anybody supposed to know exactly how to handle a situation like that? Nobody had ever seen or even heard of anything like that.
We know now:
Our society expected for the men to stop communicating with them because apparently real minors are doing this, and the men should have just let them move on to go demand sex from other strangers.
Or they could have reported them; that way their profiles would be removed, and they could just go demand sex from strangers somewhere else.
Or they could have called police because we all know police would have believed there would be an actual teen demanding sex from strangers online.
Gee, I have no idea how anybody can be confused or tricked by an extremely rare situation like this.
The problem is nobody has yet pointed out those stupidities, so people keep buying into those lame excuses to justify this scam.
My grandfather fought in WW1 And in WW2 he was a POW in the · Bataan Death March prisoners were forced to march as they were beaten and stabbed and random, then shot or run over if …he survived and was given a Congressional Medal of Honor, his son my dad is a 100% disabled veteran veteran who received many medals including the Purple Heart. My father fought for this country and government only to be targeted and harassed and I believe mentally stalked this because I felt stalked for 4 years leading up to the unethical tactics of “sting operation to catch a child predator”. It’s clear and simply when police have to go so far in crossing legal lines creating and 100% participating in. With out that there would be no crime. They clearly only have self serving motives. Because in reality there would be no real victim. Is that justice “Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”
— Louis D. Brandeis
“Our government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.”
— Louis D. Brandeis
My dad is now going to die in prison for a crime that never took place that’s how this government repays there soldiers
Theresa – I’d like to post your fathers story on my blog. Would you please write me at LadyJusticeMyth.blog?
I feel your pain as my 23 year old son celebrated his birthday monday. In prison. For a police created crime. With no victim. And entirely created in the minds of LE for monetary gain. This has to stop.
In support
Kathleen
I can only imagine how incredibly disappointing and devastating this is for him and your family, to have this done to him after he fought to defend and protect this country for what we have all believed it was.
My son was also caught in one of these traps and has been grossly and recklessly mislabeled as a child predator, by self serving idiots too.
We were straight out told that there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty, and we were treated like we were stupid for not knowing or believing it. If they need you to be guilty for their own self serving purposes, they can easily make it happen, and they do. It’s been incredibly disappointing and difficult to find out this truth about this country we live in. The criminal defense attorneys are in it as well, maybe not all, but the ones we dealt with certainly were. It’s very clear.
As long as they can continue getting away with it, like they have been, they will continue to misuse the system and abuse people in any way they can, all for self serving purposes. They continue to pretend to “just be doing their jobs”. It’s all just a game to them. They don’t give a damn about anybody, and they certainly don’t care about protecting anybody, because they’re not protecting anybody by using resources to pretend to be catching child predators and lying to the public about it. They have very sick and twisted thinking. Clearly, they are the dangerous ones that others need to be protected from.
Aracely
I totally agree. Court appointed attorneys are used because they are willing to work with the prosecution without ruffling any feathers. If they don’t they won’t get used on further cases. So to keep their jobs they don’t have any choice. Either that or go it on their own, which they would already be doing if they were capable. So the accused using court appointed attorneys is totally screwed from the start. You talk about conflict of interest, What a clown circus.
I am being somewhat vague here since I am still in pre-trial but…
charges: travelling and transmitting pics.
Detective told me it was ICAC, In deposition he told my attorney it wasn’t he did this on his own – no supervisor approval or oversight.
Can they ignore their ICAC training and just go rogue?
He also failed to preserve any electronic evidence and only has screen shots.
Is that legal – even if unintentional?
Looking for any court case reference that might be applicable here.
Thx
ICAC manual can be found online in various places. I put on my website latest editions. You ask – Can they ignore their ICAC training and just go rogue? Well, yes it does appear. It has been argued and admitted as evidence and so far ignored for the most part. Jury seems to get stuck on the text/conversation and what took place. It is not a good situation. Many tactics have been tried and failed.
What about the preserving of electronic data aka ads?
If they can, then cops can make up any story and initial contact doesn’t matter.
Other types of operations like DUI stops and Prostitution Stings have guidelines that have to be followed or risk having the case thrown out.
Are there any cases you have heard of that made this parallel/comparison?
I mean a detective just can’t ignore those guidelines for other sting types of operations can they?
up here in WA state the police appear to be able to ignore any rules they want. ICAC training, website terms of use, leading the conversation, sending adult photos and pretending to be 13! all seem to be acceptable. We are fighting it – we ALL need to fight this together!
‘They don’t ignore icac training, they Just don’t have any’.
Pteserving data like you mention is like losing or destroying important evidence. I have not seen or hear anyome speak of this type of case. It may he some new thing
How do I get the manual?
Peter – Go to this page and look for ICAC Standards: http://www.ssrepentance.com/resources/helpful-websites/
There are manuals from 2014 and 2017. There are also some unknown dated manuals. S.1738 – Protect our children act of 2008 established the ICAC task force. It provides funds to states to run proactive operations. It does set some standards and provides grants. Generally they have the standards but it doesn’t seem they care–just ignore them and appear to get away with it. I’ll post an appeal which argued violation of ICAC standard and lost.
These police schemes are designed to satisfy the public lust of viewing real police stings, destruction of the accused lives and lining the pockets of the creators of these garbage shows much more than keeping the public safe! BULLSHIT!
Yes, apparently they can ignore ICAC rules. In Texas, the officer claimed (in court) to be an ICAC certified trained officer, yet he participated in guiding the conversation to sex and consistently worked at redirecting the conversation to sex. They worked very hard at turning the conversation sexual and even, unsuccessfully, continued to try to take it back to sex when the conversation was no longer about that. In the end, they got the conviction they desperately wanted.
ICAC rules clearly state that they are supposed to let their target lead and guide the conversation, but they’re not really interested in catching real predators. So, they work hard at turning these situations into what they want them to be, to get what they want. It’s all self serving. They’ve never been held accountable for doing that. That’s why they continue to do it, and they continue to trap innocent people. As long as they can get away with it, they’ll keep doing it.
Ideally, they should be prosecuted for abusing their power and abusing others. That’s the best thing that could happen to stop this, for good.