MI- Internet sting tactics challenged

12-8-2008 Michigan: (Challenge)

Defendant snared in GR predator bust

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A man who prosecutors say drove from suburban Chicago to Grand Rapids Township hoping to meet with a 14-year-old girl for sex will go to trial.

But an attorney representing ____ questioned the tactics used in the sting conducted by the Michigan Attorney General's office and the volunteer group Perverted Justice.

Two West Michigan men -- _____ of Byron Center and _____ of Kentwood -- waived their preliminary examinations Monday. Their cases will go to trial in Kent County Circuit Court as well.

24 Hour News 8 captured footage of _____, of Addison, Ill., in mid-October when he arrived at the decoy home used in the sting. In court Monday, the woman who posed as 14-year-old "Jordyzbored" in a chat with a man by the screen name of "JavierMacias84" testified that the man knew her age and almost immediately began discussing sex, and a visit to the 14-year-old's home for it.

"He says, 'But I'm only going to go up there if for sure I'm going to get sex," Perverted Justice volunteer Nanette Parnham told the court, reading from chat transcripts.

Those logs show the man in the chat went into graphic detail about specific sex acts. But he did express concern about the decoy's age.

"I'm just a little scared that someone would find out and I'd go to prison or something like that," Parnham said, again reading from chat logs.

Investigators from the Attorney General's office testified _____ admitted he came to West Michigan to meet an underage girl for sex -- bringing condoms and marijuana with him.

_____' attorney, Mark Satawa, raised questions about how the volunteer and her group operate.

Parnham testified that Perverted Justice volunteers do not start conversations and will not bring up sex unless the target does first.

But Satawa noted that Parnham did start a second conversation with Macias two days after their first chat.

"Your intent was to give him an opportunity to talk about sex, right?" Satawa asked. Parnham later stated that was one of her motives but not the only one.

-What? What other motive did she have, anything outside of getting the person to meet for sex could make her an accomplice? Right, what am I missing here? Lawyer, please find out what her other motives are, critical....

The attorney suggested that volunteers' actions encourage suspects to go forward with meetings. And he asked the volunteer about a sting in Texas involving Perverted Justice that ended with an accused predator committing suicide.

"Where Perverted Justice came under criticism for perhaps not releasing full information, complete copies of chat logs?" Satawa asked Parnham.

The attorney said that in his client's case, the "chain of evidence" wasn't clear. He said there was no proof that what was turned over to the Attorney General's office was a full and complete record of the chats between Parnham and _____.

Satawa also noted that the chat log printed and entered into evidence was the type of computer file that can be easily manipulated, as opposed to encrypted versions of the documents maintained by Perverted Justice.

_____' attorney also argued the charges against his client were not valid because the potential victim was not in fact a minor. Assistant Attorney General Andrea Bailey pointed to similar cases in which such charges were allowed to stand.

Judge Sara Smolenski ruled that a person's intent was the deciding factor in whether the charges were relevant. In other words, did the suspect intend to have sex with a minor?

-What about the person's intent to be concerned that the girl was underage, also in the log? Your honor, wake up!

The judge ruled that issues relating to records kept by the group and actions undertaken by the volunteers may be an issue at trial but were not an issue for Monday's preliminary examination. ..News Source.. by Tony Tagliavia