Offenses Involving Online Messaging

Arizona Laws Regarding Online Messaging

Charges for Luring a Minor for Sexual Exploitation in Arizona

Arizona law defines luring a minor for sexual exploitation as “offering or soliciting sexual conduct with another person, knowing or having reason to know that the other person is a minor.”

Individuals often find themselves charged with aggravated luring or luring a minor for sexual exploitation after online messaging or texting. Law enforcement agencies often use a tactic to catch individuals in sexually charged conversations by having an undercover detective impersonate a minor on internet dating websites or chat rooms. This technique, in and of itself, is a luring technique– and often catches innocent people doing something they did not intend to.

To identify the individual messaging them, the undercover detective will obtain a warrant or court order for subscriber information and internet protocol address (known as an “IP address”) data. While these methods are effective, the problem is that individuals who never intended to communicate with a minor are often targeted, and an individual’s privacy rights can be infringed.

If police obtained IP address data or other “private” information, the accused individual’s right to be free from unreasonable search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment may be violated. If so, much or all of the government’s evidence may be suppressed or otherwise unusable.