A Broward coach had his charges dismissed (no action) by the Broward State Attorney’s Office after a prosecutor reviewing the arrest determined that the accused was entrapped.
The coach was charged with procuring a person under 18 for prostitution after a detective from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department lured the man into a meeting under the pretense that the detective was really a 16 year-old girl.
The man was arrested when the meeting commenced.
However, the Broward State Attorney’s Office noted that the accused repeatedly told the “16 year-old girl” that she should not engage in prostitution and that she was too young. Audio-recorded phone conversations captured several calls between the undercover detective and the accused which highlighted the accused’s reluctance to engage in any illegal activity with a minor.
When the accused agreed to meet with the 16 year-old, there had been no discussions of sexual activity that was supposed to take place.
Due to the fact that the accused expressed strong reservations about engaging in illegal activity with a minor, he cannot be deemed legally predisposed to commit the crime. An entrapment defense is based, in part, upon the fact that an accused person is not predisposed to commit a crime they were induced to commit through the actions of law enforcement.
The reviewing prosecutor felt that the man’s reluctance, coupled with the aggressive tactics of the police, led to the strong possibility that a judge would dismiss the case due to entrapment as a matter of law.
Eric Matheny is a criminal defense attorney representing clients charged with sex crimes in Miami-Dade and Broward.