United States v. Fugit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
703 F.3d 248 (2012)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Timothy Fugit (plaintiff) posed as a young girl named Kimberly and interacted with a series of young girls in online chat rooms. During the chats, Fugit asked the girls inappropriate sexual questions. If Fugit could convince a girl to give him her phone number, Fugit would call, pretend to be Kimberly’s father, and would then attempt to convince the girl to answer sexual questions and engage in masturbation. During a police investigation, officers found hundreds of child-pornography images on Fugit’s computer. The federal government charged Fugit under Section 2422(b) of the United States Code, alleging that Fugit used the internet to entice minors into engaging in criminal sexual activities. The government alleged that Fugit’s actions were criminal because they violated Virginia’s statute criminalizing taking indecent liberties with children. The trial court convicted Fugit. Fugit appealed, arguing that his actions did not constitute sexual activities with a minor because he did not have any physical contact with his minor victims.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Wilkinson, J.)
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