United States v. Howard

Defendant appealed his conviction for attempting to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. The court disagreed with the district court's conclusion that defendant took a substantial step toward enticing a minor to engage in illegal sex simply by sending a sexually explicit photograph of himself and asking that it be shown to the girls. The court found, however, that a reasonable trier of fact could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's conduct approached the line between despicable lawful conduct and criminal attempt and crossed it when he instructed the undercover police officer to perform sex acts on and procure birth control for the minors to get them ready for him. Therefore, defendant's "grooming behavior" - against the backdrop of conversations with an undercover officer and together with his specific discussions about travel and transmittal of sexually explicit photographs with instructions they be shown to the minors - constituted a substantial step. The court rejected defendant's constitutional challenges and affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Howard" on Justia Law