New frontiers in police entrapment

Perhaps emboldened by the success of New York City’s Operation Lucky Bag (Dec. 7), Columbus, Ohio police are now generating new sex-offense cases by deploying a topless female sunbather to tempt passing men. (Marcus Baram, “Topless Woman Lured Perverts in Police Sting”, ABCNews.com, Dec. 28).

Perhaps emboldened by the success of New York City’s Operation Lucky Bag (Dec. 7), Columbus, Ohio police are now generating new sex-offense cases by deploying a topless female sunbather to tempt passing men. (Marcus Baram, “Topless Woman Lured Perverts in Police Sting”, ABCNews.com, Dec. 28).

9 Comments

  • I wonder if the defense asked the woman to reenact the events up to the exposure in front of the jury? Certainly some grainy recording would not capture what the victim, sorry I meant the accused actually experienced.

    Quite a sight to see a half naked woman seducing a man in open court. And to then have to say he was the one committing the crime.

    Silly me, I thought it was the police’s job to catch criminals, not to manufacture them. I think I’d better avoid Columbus.

  • Surprising someone hasn’t tried to set up (trap) NBC et al., regarding their ongoing series to entrap(?) men by luring them to a house with a young woman posing as someone underage.

    Has anyone tried, as a defense in a setup like this, that the person being contacted as [supposedly] an underage kid is NOT underage and therefore no crime can be committed?

  • This has all the signs of a thought-police state. People who might very likely never commit a sex crime can find themselves maneuvered into an unlawful situation.
    If this guy’s willie was displayed discreetly enough and no one without magnified viewing could witness it (excluding the topless police officer who had apparently consented to the viewing of the penis by asking for its exposure) then he did not violate the exposure rule.

  • It was not clear from the story that the topless woman was a cop. If she is not, perhaps she should also be arrested for inciting the man to commit the offense?

    If it was a cop asking the guy to take his junk out, then it seems like it would clearly be entrapment, unless I do not understand the legal definition of that term.

  • His correct response should have been” you go first” or “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours”

    that would have either flushed out the cop in her or left him with an out (or an in)

  • Has anyone tried, as a defense in a setup like this, that the person being contacted as [supposedly] an underage kid is NOT underage and therefore no crime can be committed?

    How would that be a defense to a charge of, for example, crossing state lines with the intent to have sex with a minor? Or how would that be a defense to a charge of attempting to solicit sex from a minor?

    In some jurisdictions, the law specifically states that it is not a defense that the person solicited was not actually a minor!

  • duaneage: She was already showing hers…

  • How would that be a defense to a charge of, for example, crossing state lines with the intent to have sex with a minor? Or how would that be a defense to a charge of attempting to solicit sex from a minor?

    You claim that you knew the person being contacted wasn’t a minor and that you were role-playing (pretending that the person was a minor).

  • Ya gotta love all that extra $$ via homeland security for depts that in reality had/have very little to do, and will do anything other than REAL police work as well.

    This case is a total crock of manure.

    As to the NBC cases, somebody needs to sue NBC, but I imagine there is at least one of those in progress already. IIRC, as well most of the charges were dismissed against the alleged crooksters.