Q: I was on an adult only website and came across a minor. What do I do?

A: This is a fairly common situation people run into in the internet age. Sometimes it is an actual minor on an adult web site, other times is a fraudster attempting to extort money from site visitors and frequently it is a police officer posing as a minor working on an undercover task force. As a protective measure, my general suggestion is that you cease visiting all dating websites and chat rooms. I know this sounds extreme, but I am a criminal defense lawyer in Arizona and have had countless clients, many of them very good people, who have lost their liberty, property and careers after becoming entangled in a situation like yours.

In Arizona, we often see people that come across minors on adult websites charged with a crime. Charges are filed whether the person is a precocious minor lying about their age to gain access to the website, or a police officer posing as a minor. Usually, my clients that come across minors on websites are charged with luring a minor for sexual exploitation, in violation of A.R.S. § 13-3554. This is a serious crime with serious penalties, including registration as a sex offender for life and a mandatory prison sentence, with a range of 2 to 8.75 years. This sentence may seem harsh, but it is the least extreme sentence for a luring offense, and only applies if the minor is fifteen to seventeen years old. If the minor or police officer posing as a minor is under fifteen years of age, then my clients are charged with a dangerous crime against children (DCAC) and the prison range pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-705(G) is a minimum sentence of 5 years, a presumptive sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of 15 years, and the sentence is a flat time sentence. Typically, my clients are charged with DCAC because the undercover officers posing as minors begin their online conversation posing as adults, and after they get the person to take the bait, they invariably weave into the conservation that they are under the age of fifteen.

My specific advice to you involves a set of magical phrases if you are ever contacted by government agents about your online interaction: 1) I am invoking my Fifth Amendment Right to Remain Silent and 2) I am invoking my Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel. Additionally, I advise you to deny any request by law enforcement to search your property. If officers have a warrant, then you will be unable to stop them from searching and seizing items specified in their warrant, and you should get out of their way. However, complying with the warrant does mean you are obligated to give them any information like phone or computer passwords because a warrant does not mean you give up your Fifth Amendment Right to Remain Silent.

A final suggestion is that you contact a criminal defense lawyer immediately. Lawyers practicing in your jurisdiction in the field of sex crimes defense may not be able to stop you from being charged with a crime, but often the cases I obtain my best result on are those where I was contacted by my client before the police came knocking at their door.