Internet Solicitation Defense Attorney

Solicitation is a crime in Virginia, and the statutes have kept up in terms of the methods people use to request another to engage in prostitution. Regardless of whether you’re employing the internet or propositioning someone on the street, you still face fines, prison time, and other consequences for a conviction.

At Leary Law, our internet solicitation defense lawyer has extensive experience representing clients in a wide range of offenses, including online solicitation and prostitution. An arrest doesn’t equal a conviction, so we’ll employ all available strategies to fight the charges against you. Please contact our firm to schedule a no-cost consultation at our offices in Fairfax or Manassas. We can explain the advantages of retaining an internet solicitation defense lawyer to advocate on your behalf.

Under Virginia law, prostitution and solicitation are both sex crimes involving the exchange of sex for money or other item of value. The difference between them is your position in the transaction. Prostitution would apply to the person providing sexual acts; solicitation is the role of the person who receives them. In addition, the laws prohibit a such a transaction when it is effected by another person, such as a “pimp” or “madame.”

The specific definition of internet solicitation is:

• Using websites, social media, or other online channels;
• To offer money to another;
• For purposes of receiving sexual services.

The prosecution must prove each of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction for internet solicitation.

Virginia Law criminalizes use of communication systems to facilitate certain offenses involving minors. This statute punishes the crime of internet solicitation of a minor which addresses a broad range of activities and can involve the use of any electronic device, such as a cell phone, bulletin board, Internet, and sexting. It is illegal for any person to use any electronic means to solicit any person that he knows or has reason to believe is under the age of 18 years old. The following are examples of illegal solicitation of a min or punishable with prosecution for a criminal charge:

• Expose genitals or sexual parts to a minor to whom he/she is not legally married to or suggest that the minor child expose their genitals or sexual parts to the person.
• Propose that the minor fondle or touch their own or the person’s genitals or sexual parts or that the person fondle or feel the child’s genitals or sexual parts.
• Propose that the minor engage in the act of sexual intercourse, anal intercourse, cunnilingus (oral sex on a female’s genitals), fellatio (oral stimulation of a male’s penis), or any other prohibited sexual act.
• Entice, allure, or propose that a child enter into a vehicle, home, room, or any other place to perform one of these prohibited acts.

It is also illegal under this law to produce, distribute, or possess child pornography and to take indecent liberties with a child, such as exposing his sexual parts or genitals to the minor. Solicitation for the purpose of sex trafficking and prostitution are also crimes covered under this statute. If you are charged with online solicitation of a minor, you could also be charged with other sex crimes, such as taking indecent liberties with a child.

In most cases, internet solicitation is charged as a Class 1 Misdemeanor, the most serious type of misdemeanor under Virginia law. If you’re convicted, you face up to 12 months’ incarceration and a fine up to $2,500. However, if you use the internet to solicit a minor who is 16-17 years old, you face Class 6 Felony charges. Your potential sentence for a conviction could be up to five years in prison.

Age is also a factor if the person you solicit is younger than 16 years old. The crime is a Class 5 Felony, punishable by a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.

The initial strategy in any criminal caseincluding internet solicitation, is to identify and exploit weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case. The “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard is difficult to prove, and an attorney can attack the credibility of the evidence. In addition, you may have a defense based upon your civil rights. Many internet solicitation cases involve a long period of investigation, where officials gather enough evidence to arrest you. If these activities violate your right to be protected from unlawful search and seizure, any evidence acquired is inadmissible and cannot be used against you in court.

You should note that the individual’s age is not a defense to most Virginia sex crimes. Therefore, it’s not relevant that the person you solicit for sex told you that he or she was an adult. Likewise, it’s not a defense if you believe that the individual was a minor – but was actually an investigator who’s an adult.

Online police stings and use of undercover officers posing as minors is a common scenario in cases of internet solicitation.  When communicating with another individual online, it may be difficult if not impossible to know the real identify of the other individual.  If the officer involved in the operation was merely online and taking part in the actions of the accused person through solicitation or solicitation of a minor, the charges may stand. Police utilize online stings and undercover activity to identify individuals committing online sex crimes.  By posing as an underage minor person, an undercover officer may engage in conversation with a perpetrator of an internet solicitation in order to catch the individual making illegal sexually explicit requests.

The other side of these operations is that of entrapment where the officer uses certain language to entice someone into making a decision to attempt to meet up in person to pay for sex or to engage in sexual relations with a minor. Because the location is online, the actual arrest may require the physical presence of the individual before charges are possible. By influencing what the other party does or says, the law enforcement agency or officer may participate in entrapment which could lead to a valid argument in refuting the charges.

Whether you are the victim of entrapment depends on the precise circumstances of your case.  Contacting an internet solicitation defense lawyer at Leary Law immediately to know your rights is essential.

The stakes are high if you’ve been arrested for internet solicitation, especially since you face jail time, hefty fines, and other adverse consequences for a conviction. For more information on how these cases work, please contact Leary Law today to set up a free consultation. You can reach our Fairfax or Manassas offices by calling 703-359-7111 or via our website. We can explain potential defense strategies after reviewing your circumstances in more detail.