Entrapment Issues Tainted Conviction for Seeking Sex With Minor

A defendant who was arrested as part of a government sting operation on Grindr had his conviction for seeking sex with a minor vacated by the First Circuit because the jury wasn’t read an entrapment instruction.

Ryan Seig, from the child exploitation unit of Homeland Security Investigation, posted a fictitious profile on Grindr—a social media network primarily aimed at gay men—as part of the operation. Rafael Pérez-Rodríguez responded to it.

Seig asked almost immediately if Pérez-Rodríguez liked really young guys, because he had an 11-year-old “boyfriend.” Pérez-Rodríguez said he “started at 8" and the “younger the better.”

After a few ...