The Electrical Enticement of Minors Research Essay

Electrical Enticement of Minors

Electrical enticement of minors is the use of electronic or social media to entice people under the age of 18 to participate in any kind of sexual activity. All states, including Oklahoma, have laws against doing this. The following are the established laws concerning electrical enticement: “It is unlawful for an adult to make any proposal to a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity, to join the adult in such activity in a private setting, or to witness the adult engaging in such activity.” (Steiner, 2017, p. 1). Oral, written, or computerized proposals are all acceptable. Any child pornography that is produced, copied, distributed, or downloaded is illegal. The soliciting or making any sexual advances to a minor through electrical gadgets such as cellphones is illegal.

Penalties

The penalties of such crimes are harsh: “Any person convicted of any violation of this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than three years nor more than twenty years” (National District Attorney Association, 2010, p. 83). For the crime of sexual battery, one can serve up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine or both. Sexual Communications with a minor could lead one to pay a fine of 10,000 dollars or ten years’ imprisonment or both. Indecent exposure could rack up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 20,000 dollars or both.

Exceptions and Ignorance of Age

These laws may seem fair if not for these exceptions. A convicted person cannot use legal impossibility as a defense. This is when the convict makes sexual communication with a minor thinking that he is conversing with someone of legal age. The penalties also apply regardless of whether the accused engaged in sexual conduct with the minor or it was merely through electronic communication. The accused cannot plead innocent on the grounds of ignorance of the minor’s age.

References

National District Attorney Association (2010). Computer Facilitated Luring and Solicitation of a Child. Retrieved from http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/Computer%20Facilitated%20Luring%20and%20Soliciting%206-2010.pdf

Steiner. M. (2017). Child Enticement Laws in Oklahoma. Retrieved from http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/sex-crimes/oklahoma-child-enticement-laws.htm.