Online Solicitation and Traveling to Meet a Minor in Miami: Parent and Guardian Stings

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. Everything you tell us is confidential. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Soliciting a Parent, Guardian, or Custodian (§ 847.0135(3)(b))

Instruction 11.17(b): the State must prove that you knowingly used an online service, internet service, or any device that stores or transmits data to contact a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child, or a person you believed was one; and that during that contact you solicited, lured, or enticed, or tried to, that person to consent to the child's participation in an illegal sexual act or other unlawful sexual conduct.

Third-degree felony (up to 5 years and $5,000). Second-degree felony (up to 15 years and $10,000) if you misrepresented your age. Each separate use of a service or device can be charged as a separate count.

Traveling to Meet a Minor (§ 847.0135(4)(b))

Instruction 11.17(d): after that kind of online contact with a parent, guardian, or custodian (or a person believed to be one), you traveled, tried to travel, or caused another to travel, within, to, or from Florida, for the purpose of engaging in an illegal sexual act with a child or a person you believed was a child. Second-degree felony.

The direct versions, chatting with a child or a person believed to be a child, are Instructions 11.17(a) and 11.17(c), with the same penalty levels.

What the Law Says About Stings

The statute says an undercover officer's involvement is not a defense, so "there was no real child" does not end the case by itself. It does not rule out entrapment. Under Florida's entrapment statute, a person must be acquitted if he or she proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that police used persuasion or inducement creating a substantial risk that someone not ready to commit the crime would commit it. The chats, who raised what, and how hard the officer pushed are the core of most defenses.

Registration and Mandatory Prison

§ 847.0135 (except a subsection about service providers) is on Florida's sexual offender registration list. A conviction can mean reporting in person to the sheriff within 48 hours of establishing a residence, and for years after. Under § 794.0116, a person with a prior qualifying sex-offense conviction or withhold who commits a § 847.0135 offense faces a 10-year minimum mandatory sentence.

How We Defend These Cases

• The complete chat log, not the excerpts in the arrest report.
• Intent and entrapment. Adult-oriented sites, role play, and who introduced a child into the conversation.
• The travel element. Why you were where you were.
• Phones and statements. See Motions to Suppress.

What to Do First

1. Say nothing to police about the chats. Ask for a lawyer.
2. Do not delete apps, accounts, or messages.
3. Call us about bond conditions, which often limit internet use. See Bond & Nebbia Hearings.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

See our Results page, Cyber Crimes Defense, and Sex Crimes Defense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is entrapment a defense?

It can be. The statute bars only the argument that an officer was involved. Entrapment is a separate defense that the accused must prove.

I never met anyone. Can I still be charged with traveling?

Traveling includes attempting to travel or causing another person to travel, for the illegal purpose. The details of the trip matter.