SC Attorney General Urges Congress to Give States More Prosecutorial Power in Sex Trafficking and Internet Solicitation Crimes

South Carolina’s top prosecutor, Attorney General Alan Wilson, is urging the US Congress to give states more power to prosecutor criminal sexual activity, including sex trafficking and internet solicitation, particularly regarding children.

Wilson says he is joining with dozens of other chief prosecutors to urge Congress to amend the Communications Decency Act. The group says they want lawmakers to empower state and local governments and prosecutors to have better tools to prosecute cases that involve sex trafficking, internet solicitation, and prostitution.

Wilson says that part of the weakness in the Communications Decency Act is its age – the law was drafted in 1996, just as the internet became a popular communications tool for the public.

He says the law should be updated as criminals become smarter and communications tools, such as wifi and smartphones, become more available. Criminals will exploit new technologies to hide their illegal activities, including solicitation of children through social media, and prostitution.

Sex Trafficking and Internet Solicitation are Federal Crimes

Everyone, including tweens and teens, carry cell phones or smart phones.  Combined with the recent trend of sending racy pictures, there is a new area of potential liability for child pornography.  While interpretive caselaw is not completely clear yet, under existing law, it remains illegal to send or receive child pornography, including nude pictures shared between minors.

In the age of the internet, social networking sites including Facebook and Myspace,  and internet chat rooms have become a frequent forum for law enforcement posing as an underage minor.  A person who appears to be  a minor, talks and presents themselves as a minor may actually be an agent running an online sting.

Often times an arrest for criminal solicitation of a minor is tied to an online chatroom.  A  Federal Agent, pretending to be underage, may participate in a discussion of a sexual nature and offer to send or receive pornographic images or even meet in person.

If you attempt, ask or communicate your desire to engage in sexual activity after the “child’s” age is made clear, even if you never meet, you can be charged with online criminal solicitation of a minor.

Under South Carolina law, you can be force to serve up to 10 years for online child solicitation. In fact, men and women charged with child solicitation may receive more time than someone charged with child molestation.  While the potential penalties are stiffer, this does not mean that you are guilty or that you do not have any defenses to the charge.

Whether you are charged with sex trafficking, criminal solicitation of a minor, or possession or distribution of child pornography, there are several common defenses:

• Did you intentionally offer to send or request illegal pictures or video?
• Was it actually the Defendant who usd the computer?
• Entrapment

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Sex Trafficking, Internet Solicitation, and Prostitution Charges

All computers have IP address that can be used to identify whether you have accessed child pornography from your computer. However, just because the information is on your computer and you have been charged does not automatically mean that you are guilty. The defense attorneys at the Strom Law Firm will aggressively fight to defend your rights and provide you with the best defense against sex trafficking and internet solicitation charges. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today at 803.252.4800.