united-states criminal-law minor
Is it a crime to engage in sexual talk with a stranger that pretends to be a little girl but actually isn&#39;t?
<p>I was watching the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXfibK8tCtk&amp;list=PLqOooBy2Rmn8ZH9jR90oGHU-EuI7iA121" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hansen vs predator</a> series.</p>
<p>In there a random guy called Chris Hansen goes online and pretends to be a 13 years old girl.</p>
<p>When people chat with him, he tries to steer the discussion on a sexual level (&quot;I'm just coming out of the shower&quot;, etc.).</p>
<p>Then he lures them into his house, where there is a real life decoy (a 19 years old girl).</p>
<p>After some talking, the decoy goes away and Chris Hansen appears.</p>
<p>He then starts to question them, and he &quot;let them go&quot; out of the garage where the police arrests them.</p>
<p>They are charged with &quot;criminal attempt to commit risk of injury to a minor&quot;.</p>
<p>My understanding is that Chris Hansen is a total random guy who does not work for the government. That is, he is not an undercover police agent.</p>
<p>Question: Is it a crime if I engage in sexual discourse with a random stranger that pretends to be a little girl, but he isn't?</p>
<p>I mean, he is not an undercover agent but a random guy who appears to do this for money/views or whatever.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/canada" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;canada&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;canada&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="canada-container">canada</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Is it a crime [to] engage in sexual discourse with a random stranger [who] pretends to be a little girl [but isn't]?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This could be the offence of <em>child luring</em> (<em>Criminal Code</em>, s. 172.1; and <em>R. v. Morrison</em>, <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/17618/index.do" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2019 SCC 15</a>).</p>
<p>Section 172.1 makes it an offence to communicate using telecommunication with a person &quot;who is, <strong>or who the accused believes is, under the age of 18</strong>&quot;, for the purpose of facilitating one of several listed sexual offences.</p>
<p>While some child luring would rise to the level of an actual <em>attempt</em> to commit the underlying offence, s. 172.1 captures even earlier activity (<em>R. v. Legare</em>, 2009 SCC 56, para. 25):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[s. 172.1] criminalizes conduct that <em>precedes</em> the commission of the sexual offences to which it refers, and even an attempt to commit them</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Yes</h2>
<p><a href="/questions/tagged/australia" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;australia&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;australia&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="australia-container">australia</a></p>
<p>In fact, Australian police (state and federal) do it routinely when penetrating peadophile rings. Unlike the USA, there are no prohibitions on entrapment in Australia. Here’s an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/07/australian-police-sting-brings-down-paedophile-forum-on-dark-web" rel="nofollow noreferrer">example</a> from <a href="/questions/tagged/queensland" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;queensland&#39;" aria-label="show questions tagged &#39;queensland&#39;" rel="tag" aria-labelledby="queensland-container">queensland</a>.</p>
<p>Section <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1900-040#sec.66EB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">66EB</a> of the Crimes Act 1900 details the crime of Procuring or grooming child under 16 for unlawful sexual activity and explicitly provides that it’s still a crime even if the child is fictitious.</p>
