California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Frank Milio learned the prosecutor wasn’t joking even if Letterman and Leno were.

The subject of recent late night comedy skits, Mr. Milio, one of two 93-year old men arrested in an increasingly common form of Internet sex sting, is actually going to trial on the charges, according to the prosecutor in Manatee County, Florida.
Read more about 93 Year Old Man Charged In Prostitution sting

As a California criminal defense lawyer specializing in sex crimes, this story says it all. Not really, but it does maybe help you understand why some “sex perverts” should be legally represented after all!

I will continue to follow the case and let you know if Mr. Milio goes to jail.

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sex Crimes

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A former Wells Fargo vice president, Kenneth Gibson, was sentenced to 135 months by U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins in an Oakland courtroom yesterday for exchanging more than 600 images of child porn over a two year period.
Gibson choked back tears and apologized to the court, after the judge said to him, “ . . . there are real children significantly impacted by this.” Gibson’s lawyer, Robert Beles, said, “You’ve basically got a good man who went into a fantasy world. Other than that, he’s never done anything wrong in his life. There is no indication his is a pedophile. [italics mine].”

Gibson’s lawyer said that his client is “still searching for reasons why he entered that subterranean, perverted world of child-porn Internet.”

This case (Kenneth Gibson) is another illustration that we have entered a new age of thought police. No harm to another person need be proven. All the government has to show is that a person’s thoughts and fantasies involve children and sex, and that person was on the Internet. This case is similar to one I had last year in Hayward where a middle-aged man merely LOOKED at pictures of young girls on files he had downloaded, for which he was charged with several felonies. In that case, the FBI electronically traced the gentleman back to his computer and turned the evidence over to the Alameda DA, who sent the sheriff to make the arrest.

Continue reading "Internet Child Porn Puts Martinez Girls’ Soccer Coach in Federal Prison for 11 years" »

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bay Area Cases , California Cases , Child Pornography , Federal Cases , Federal Crimes , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sentencing , Sex Crimes

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The Tehama County DA announced the first arrest following its newly launched Operation Safe Sam, a sting operation where the Sheriff’s office runs fake MySpace ads under the guise of an adolescent girl looking for excitement. Tehama County DA sting run on MySpace
Benjamin Dennis, 32, responded to the MySpace profile and propositioned the “girl,” according to the DA’s charge. Following 8 days of emails and after the two agreed to meet, Dennis was arrested and arraigned on February 19, 2008; his preliminary hearing is set for March 10, 2008; he faces a maximum sentence of five years, eight months in state prison; when he is released he will obligated to register as a sex offender, if convicted.

As an attorney who once lived and practiced criminal law in rural Northern CA (Humboldt and Mendocino counties), it is flat-out irresponsible to spend the little money rural county CA law enforcement has available on such stings.

If the DA was looking for those preying on pre-pubescent girls, the stings would be justified.

Although men should not be trying to have sex with teenagers, albeit teenagers not only willing to have sex but advertising for it, why spend money arresting and convicting them of when that same money could be spent trying to locate and stop real sexual predators?

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: California Cases , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sex Crimes

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An East Bay physician must stand trial for attempting to engage in a sex act with a minor, according to an article appearing today in The Press Democrat. Doctor must stand trial in sex sting case

Dr. Maurice Wolin was one of 29 men arrested in August 2006 for engaging in lewd Internet chat conversations followed by attempts to meet under aged boys for sex purposes, as filmed by TV cameras. After arriving at a Petaluma home, Dr. Wolin and the other 28 men were confronted by a NBC reporter before they were arrested

The Sonoma Superior Court held that the DA has enough evidence to bring a case for attempted child molestation.

Dr. Wolin has chosen to fight the charges while at least 12 other defendants (presumably with less ready cash to pay for a defense) have already settled with plea bargains with terms that include 9 months in the county jail and life registration as a sex offender.

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bay Area Cases , California Cases , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sex Crimes

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The FBI arrested a Novato, CA. school bus driver and den leader for the Boy Scouts as he entered a Marin County courtroom on state charges relating to the same crimes. Novato school bus driver facing federal pornography charges

The man, McGinnis Benedict, 52, was making a required appearance at a preliminary hearing for state charges brought for his having downloaded child porn on his lunch break at work and when his wife was asleep at night at home.

Benedict was already facing 25 felony counts for possessing child pornography in the state court when the Feds stepped in.

Use of the Internet for child porn is both a state crime and a Federal crime, carrying heavy penalties.

After the FBI arrested Benedict they asked Marin County to hold him in its jail until they can get him before a Federal judge in San Francisco. Then the feds will let him come back to Marin to face the state charges.

Benedict’s Boy Scout membership has been revoked.

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Bay Area Cases , California Cases , Child Pornography , Federal Crimes , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sex Crimes

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An article titled “Online Predators and Their Victims” appeared February 21, 2008, in the journal American Psychologist that identified the following myths:

Myth: Internet predators are driving up child sex crimes

Fact: Sexual assaults on teens fell 52% from 1993 to 2005

Myth: Internet predators are pedophiles

Fact: Internet predators target adolescents, not prepubescent children

Myth: Internet predators represent a new dimension to child sexual abuse

Fact: Most Internet-related offenses are essentially statutory rape: non-forcible sex with minors too young to consent Internet predators abduct or trick the victims

Fact: Three quarters of the victims have repeat sex with the predator and go to the first face-to-face meeting expecting to have sex

Myth: Internet predators pose online as teens in order to meet teens

Fact: 95% of predators do not pose as teenagers to meet teenagers

Myth: Internet predators go after any child

Fact: Internet predators target boys and girls of uncertain sexual orientation, often with a history of sexual abuse and risk-taking

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Child Pornography , Federal Crimes , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sex Crimes

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The Kentucky Attorney General is proposing new legislation dealing with Internet sex crimes, which state legislators have promised to enact. Attorney General Conway & Representative Bell Introduce Cybersafety Legislation

Law enforcement will be permitted to use “specially trained or non-sworn personnel” for online stings.

Prosecution of the 350 Kentucky registered sex offenders who have been removed by MySpace and Facebook will be enabled.

Online identities of offenders will be included in their state sex registry record - bringing Kentucky into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

Amends the state’s stalking statute to include cyberstalking.

In addition to its self described “cybersafety legislation,” the Attorney General’s office has pledged to create an Internet Crimes Unit.

Posted by Douglas R. Slain | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Federal Crimes , Internet Sex/Porn , Internet Stings , Sentencing , Sex Crimes

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