SJC backs 2002 law on Internet predators

Online communications can result in prosecution

The state's high court said for the first time yesterday that sexual predators can be prosecuted for communicating with their potential victims over the Internet, a law that one county prosecutor said has prevented children from being murdered.

In a unanimous ruling written by Justice Roderick L. Ireland, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the child enticement conviction of Richard S. Disler, who had an online conversation in 2003 with a police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.

"This is a very important victory," said Jonathan W. Blodgett, the Essex district attorney who prosecuted Disler with the help of the North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council, whose officers played the role of "Sara."

Blodgett, who set up a unit in his office to focus on sexual predators attacking children using the Internet, said he is convinced the 2002 law has saved the lives of children. His office has prosecuted nine people since its enactment.

He cited the case of one man, who was arrested in possession of a rope, a plastic tarp, handcuffs, and a video camera as he prepared to meet a female officer posing as a teen.

"That's pretty chilling," he said of the items discovered by police when the man was taken into custody. "I'm convinced it prevented a murder."

Writing for the court, Justice Ireland rejected Disler's contention that his First Amendment rights were violated and that the law should be tossed as a result.

Ireland agreed that discussing sexual activity, even with someone underage, is constitutionally protected free speech.

But, he added, "there is no right to free speech or free association implicated when someone entices another with the intent to commit a criminal act on them."

Ireland also said that prosecutors must be able to document the defendant's intent to commit a sex crime before they can convict.

Disler was placed on probation for three years, ordered to stay away from children under 16 years old, and to register as a sex offender following his conviction for child enticement, the SJC said. Disler, according to the court, testified at his trial that he was "role playing" and trying to discover the girl's true identity so he could end contact with her. He also testified he never intended to meet "Sara."

Disler's lawyer, James B. Krasnoo, said in a brief phone interview yesterday he is disappointed by the SJC ruling because it leaves intact a law he considers dangerously overbroad. In court papers, he argued that the law violated the First Amendment by making conversations about sex over the Internet a crime. He also contended that Disler was entrapped. "I'm very worried about the danger that the statute could cause. It should be remembered that Mr. Disler never left his computer," Krasnoo said. "I wonder how the intent to commit a . . . crime can be proven when one doesn't leave his computer and never meets a human being."

A person can only be convicted if prosecutors show the suspect intended to violate any one of the 18 sex crimes, such as rape, that are linked to the law, the SJC said.

Blodgett said his office now investigates up to 250 reports of sexual predators preying on children in Essex County each year.

"The number is growing every year," Blodgett said. "There are more predators who are using the Internet as their weapon of choice, so it's always going up."