Child Enticement Lawyers

“Child enticement” is inviting, persuading, or attempting to convince a minor to enter a private space to engage in unlawful sexual contact or sexual assault.

Child enticement charges can be brought even if the defendant and intended victim never meet in person and no physical contact is made. Simply asking a minor to engage in sex is enough to file charges, and a person can be charged even if they merely believed that the victim was a minor.

The penalties if convicted for an act of child enticement can be quite serious and may require that the offender register as a sex offender. One of the reasons that sex crimes involving children are aggressively policed is that children are below the age of consent – that is to say, because of their young age, they cannot give legal consent, even if by word or deed they seem to be going along with the offender. Who constitutes a “child” will be defined by federal laws or your specific state’s laws.

Child enticement is different from the much broader crime of child endangerment (i.e., driving while intoxicated with a child in the car, leaving a child unattended, or failure to report child abuse), which addresses conduct that puts the child mentally and physically at risk. Child enticement deals strictly with sexual crimes, not crimes of general abuse.

What are Some Examples of Child Enticement Crimes?

The types of child enticement crimes vary across federal and state laws. Common examples include some of the following activities involving a child:

• Sexual intercourse: Engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor child is sometimes referred to as statutory rape. As mentioned, a child cannot legally give consent to sexual intercourse, and so putting up a defense by arguing that the child consented will not be successful. Nor will claiming that you thought the child was old enough – all that matters is what the actual age of the victim.
• Pornography: Pornography can constitute child enticement if the offender persuades a child to engage in sexual conduct or sexual photography. For example, if the offender coerces the child to allow them to take a nude photo or appear nude on camera, this is considered child pornography.
• Online sexual conduct: If an offender engages in sexual behavior online with a minor, they may be charged with child enticement. An example of this is when a person pretending to be age-appropriate uses a computer to seduce, lure, or entice a minor child (or someone they believe to be a minor child) to engage in unlawful sexual activity or pornography.

It is a popular law enforcement technique to use police officers to pose as minors and interact with potential offenders. Offenders often allege a defense of entrapment, but this is usually not successful since by voluntarily interacting in a sexually explicit way with a minor, the offender is predisposed to engage in the conduct underlying the charges.

• Lewd or lascivious behavior: This behavior involves an offender who uses the child’s body to arouse or satisfy their sexual desires. A person may also be charged with child sexual abuse for committing lewd or lascivious behavior with a child.
• Engaging in prostitution: Soliciting a prostitute for sex is a criminal offense, usually resulting in a misdemeanor charge. This charge can be enhanced to a felony if a minor child is involved.
• Sex tourism: Sex tourism involves, individually or as part of a group, traveling to another country where prostitution is legal to engage in a sexual activity with a minor. Regardless of the age of consent in those countries, it is still a crime in the U.S., and the participant in sex tourism will be prosecuted for unlawful conduct.

Is Child Enticement a Federal or a State Crime?

Enticement cases have traditionally been investigated and prosecuted by state police and district attorneys. Over time, however, the type of enticement has changed from strangers in vans to an electronic device. As a result, the federal government has become far more involved in prosecution than it once was. This is because using the federal mail system and the internet is a crime against the federal government.

The use of electronic devices to knowingly entice anyone under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity or attempt to do so is a federal crime. These electronic devices can include:

• Cell phones
• Internet communication via tablets and computers
• Chat rooms
• Online gaming platforms
• Social media

Additionally, federal law makes it a crime to coerce or entice a person of any age to travel for prostitution or to engage in criminal sexual activity. Through the use of electronic communication, offenders no longer have to physically cross state lines to be charged with child enticement if they are communicating with minors in another state.

They can even be charged from outside of the United States, and U.S. citizens have faced sexual tourism charges for visiting or communicating with minors outside of the country to engage in prohibited sexual acts.

How is Child Enticement Different from Kidnapping?

Kidnapping is a distinct crime, separate from child enticement, though they both involve the movement of the victim from one place to another. In child enticement scenarios, the child is not physically forced to leave their house or school. Kidnapping, however, involves forcing the victim to change locations.

Also, while child enticement involves some sexual misconduct, kidnapping does not always include this behavior. For example, a non-custodial parent who removes a child from the custodial parent can be charged with kidnapping. If there is no sexual misconduct involved, the non-custodial parent isn’t likely to be charged with child enticement.

Are There Defenses to Child Enticement?

Whether or not there is an available defense to a charge of child enticement depends on state law (or federal law, as the case may be). It always depends on the case’s circumstances, and remember that each case is unique.

Most likely, a skilled attorney will most likely attempt to undermine the prosecution’s specific evidence or offer evidence on the offender’s behalf as to why the sentence should be lenient. For example, the attorney may argue that the offender’s substance abuse history influenced their bad judgment.

Or perhaps they will offer expert testimony that the offender is not actually attracted to children in real life and that they were merely articulating a fantasy. A skilled attorney can help assess these defenses based on the specific facts of each case.

Do I Need a Lawyer If I Have been Charged with Child Enticement?

Crimes involving sexual relationships with minors are often aggressively prosecuted and severely punished.

The penalties for enticement can include lengthy prison sentences and hefty fines. Being falsely accused of a sex crime, especially one against a minor, can destroy lives and reputations. A conviction can mean mandatory lifetime registration as a sexual offender, limiting the jobs an offender can take and the locations where they can live.

A child enticement charge can have a serious legal and reputational impact. It is important to take these charges seriously. Consulting with a local criminal attorney will help you understand how to respond to these charges.