U.S. v. York

Record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s guilty verdict on charges of attempting to entice minor to engage in sexual activity and attempting to use interstate facilities to transmit information about minor, where said charges arose out of defendant’s internet responses to posted advertisement on Craig’s List by police officer posing as 15-year-old girl “looking to make $ for favors.” Record showed that defendant participated in over 70 exchanges with officer over 4-day period, during which defendant told officer that she was pretty, and asked officer about her sexual history, her living situation, her sexual positions and her favorite sexual activity. Defendant was eventually arrested near location where he had arranged for in-person meeting with officer. Evidence showed existence of defendant’s attempt to entice through use of internet individual whom he believed was 15-year-old girl to engage on sexual activity, as well as defendant’s actual belief that individual was 15-year-old girl, where, after he received photograph of girl from officer, defendant expressed concern that he did not want to go to jail because she was young. Also, jury could reject defendant’s claim of entrapment, since: (1) fact that government initiated conversation with defendant was insufficient to show improper inducement; and (2) jury could properly have found that defendant was pre-disposed to commit charged offenses given nature and extent his more than 70 exchanges with officer over 4-day period, and given fact that defendant had initiated some conversations with officer, even though he believed at that time that officer was 15-year-old girl.