Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
The Lawrence Eagle Tribune reported Friday that a 27 year old Florida man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for convincing a 15 year girl to run away from home to be with him. The defendant, Daniel Lenz met the girl through an internet video game. The defense tried to get sentencing continued so that Lenz could get a psychiatric evaluation to aid in his sentencing. Sentencing documents claimed that Lenz suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that he has experienced suicidal tendencies and that he had a troubled relationship with his father. The judge refused to continue sentencing after prosecutors claimed that Lenz was still having phone sex with the girl while incarcerated. The prosecution further stated that Lenz poses a danger to the girl and refuses to admit that he committed a crime. Apparently the girl would visit Lenz in prison and during at least one visit exposed herself by flashing him.
On August 30, 2007 a federal jury convicted Lenz of 18 U.S.C. sec. 2423. That statute makes criminal transporting anyone under the age of 18 for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct. The statute requires a mandatory 10 year prison sentence. There is also a maximum of life in prison for a conviction of this offense. While Lenz received the minimum sentence he will also be on supervised release for life after his release from prison.
This is an extremely strict statute when compared to some state laws. For example, in Massachusetts the age for consent is 16. Arguably the federal statute would make criminal a consensual act that involved for example a 19 year old boy and an 17 year old girl. Hopefully law enforcement would use discretion in such a case and not choose to prosecute that type of act and limit its use of this statute to those situations that result in the exploitation of young vulnerable victims.