OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court says police may pose as children during Internet sting operations to catch sex offenders preying on children.
Mitel Patel was convicted of attempted second-degree rape of a child after chatting with a Spokane police detective, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, over an online instant messaging service in 2004. He agreed to meet the girl at her apartment for sex and was immediately arrested by police when he arrived.
Patel had argued that prosecutors must prove there was an actual underage victim. But in clarifying previous rulings on the issue, the court Wednesday said that a defendant may be convicted of attempted rape of a child where the alleged victim is a fictitious underage character created by police.
