The Sting Cases
A large share of internet sex-crime prosecutions in Florida grow out of undercover sting operations, where an officer poses online as a minor, or as the parent of one, and engages a target in conversation. The charges that follow come from section 847.0135. Soliciting a child for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer service is a felony under subsection (3), and traveling to meet a minor under subsection (4) is more serious still, a second-degree felony, because it adds the act of going to a meeting. In nearly all of these cases there was no actual child, only an officer, and the case is built almost entirely on the chat logs and the arrest at a meeting point.
| Charge | What the State alleges | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Online solicitation (847.0135(3)) | Soliciting a minor for unlawful conduct by computer | Third-degree felony |
| Traveling to meet a minor (847.0135(4)) | Traveling after soliciting, to meet for unlawful conduct | Second-degree felony |
Entrapment Is the Central Defense
Because the State, through its officer, created and steered the entire encounter, entrapment is often the heart of the defense, and Florida recognizes two forms. Subjective entrapment, under section 777.201, asks whether law enforcement induced a person to commit a crime they were not predisposed to commit, and the defendant can win acquittal by proving inducement and a lack of predisposition by a preponderance of the evidence. Objective entrapment, grounded in the due-process clause of the Florida Constitution, asks whether the government’s conduct was so egregious that it offends decency, regardless of predisposition, as recognized in State v. Henderson, 955 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). When an officer initiated the contact, introduced the unlawful subject, and pressured a reluctant target, those defenses have real force.
Reading the Whole Conversation
These cases are won and lost in the chat logs, and the State usually presents excerpts. The full conversation often tells a different story: who first raised the unlawful topic, how much persuasion it took, whether the target hesitated, backed out, or was pushed forward, and whether the language the State calls intent was anything of the kind. The defense reads every message in sequence rather than the pieces the State selected, because the arc of the conversation is frequently where predisposition, or its absence, becomes clear.
The Traveling Element
The traveling charge requires more than talk; it requires the act of traveling for the purpose of the unlawful meeting. Whether a person truly traveled for that purpose, whether the intent the statute requires can be proven, and whether the meeting was the product of inducement are all contestable. Florida courts have wrestled with how solicitation and traveling charges relate when they arise from the same episode, which can matter for how a single sting is charged and sentenced.
How I Approach a Sting Case
The defense works the inducement and the proof: examining the full conversation for who drove it and whether predisposition existed, building the entrapment defense under both the subjective and objective standards, testing whether the State can prove the intent and, in a traveling case, the purpose its statute requires, and challenging the search and any statements. A case the State built by creating the opportunity is a case that deserves to be tested against the limits the law places on how far the government may go.
Related: Sex and internet crimes overview, Internet and computer crimes, Defending the case: forensics and suppression, and Challenging a search or stop.
I started as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, and I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in the state. These cases turn on evidence the State calls certain and rarely is, and I bring in the right experts, in DNA, digital and cell phone forensics, and medicine, while my own forensic-science training tells me what to demand of them and how to cross-examine the State’s analysts. Learn more about my background.
Common Questions
What is the difference between online solicitation and traveling to meet a minor?
Online solicitation under section 847.0135(3) is soliciting a minor for unlawful sexual conduct using a computer service, a third-degree felony. Traveling to meet a minor under section 847.0135(4) adds the act of going to a meeting and is a second-degree felony. In most of these cases there was no actual child, only an undercover officer.
What is entrapment in an online sting?
Entrapment is the defense that law enforcement induced a crime the person was not predisposed to commit. Florida recognizes subjective entrapment under section 777.201, where the defendant proves inducement and lack of predisposition by a preponderance, and objective entrapment under the Florida Constitution, where the government's conduct was so egregious it offends due process. When an officer initiated and pushed the encounter, these defenses can be decisive.
Is it a defense that there was no real child, only an officer?
Not by itself, because the statutes reach soliciting or traveling to meet a person believed to be a minor. The real defenses lie elsewhere: entrapment, the absence of predisposition, whether the State can prove the required intent, and, in a traveling case, whether the person truly traveled for the unlawful purpose the statute requires.
Why do the full chat logs matter so much?
Because the State usually presents excerpts, and the full conversation often tells a different story, who first raised the unlawful topic, how much persuasion it took, whether the target hesitated or backed out. Reading every message in sequence is frequently where predisposition, or its absence, and the strength of an entrapment defense become clear.
Can a traveling charge be defended even after an arrest at a meeting place?
Yes. The traveling charge requires proof that the person traveled for the purpose of an unlawful meeting, and that intent, along with the inducement behind the encounter, is contestable. Entrapment, the absence of the required purpose, and challenges to the search and any statements are all part of defending these cases.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Online solicitation and traveling to meet a minor are felonies that can carry mandatory prison and sex offender registration. These are among the most serious charges in Florida, and penalties and registration consequences vary with the offense and facts, so confirm how the current law applies to your situation with counsel. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
