Sex crimes are taken very seriously in New York. Those who stand accused of a sex crime often benefit from bringing a sex crimes attorney on board as soon as possible. Often, these high-stakes cases are very complex and the defendant needs an advocate to ensure his or her rights are protected.

Recently, 23 people were arrested in a child-sex sting operation in Florida. One man who was arrested in that sting for allegedly soliciting sex with a minor is claiming that he was entrapped by police.

The legal defense of entrapment is quite complicated in New York courts, but generally it is available as a defense when the police encouraged or induced the defendant to commit a crime. To establish entrapment, the defendant must prove that he or she would not have committed the crime if not persuaded to do so by the police or government agent.

There is often a fine line between undercover investigations and entrapment.

The 48-year-old Florida man said that he was trying to set up a date on Craigslist with an adult woman, not an 11-year-old girl for which he was arrested.

The man said that he has set up dates with 10 to 15 other adult women through websites, and that he was tricked this time into setting up a date with an 11-year-old. According to a news report, the man was having conversations with a woman he met through a Craigslist ad about her 11-year-old daughter, but he did not understand that the nature of those conversations was being construed as solicitation of the daughter.

When a defendant pleads entrapment, evidence of the defendant's character is often allowed. This is because for this man to prove he was entrapped, he may have to show that the crime is inconsistent with his character. His claim that he has used the Internet to meet only adult women in the past may be a part of this.

Source: Gainesville Sun, "Man arrested in child-sex sting says he was entrapped," Cindy Swirko, Feb. 16, 2012