United States v. Leal, No. 22-1808 (7th Cir. 2023)
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FBI agents created a profile for a fictitious individual, “Clay,” on the dating app “Grindr.” Grindr does not allow users under age 18, so the agent represented that Clay was 18. Agent Carter testified that he exchanged messages with Leal, telling him that Clay was 15 years old. Grindr deleted Clay’s profile. Carter created a new profile for “Corey.” Leal initiated contact with Corey. The ensuing discussion concerned a meeting, Corey’s age and the risk of going to jail, and condoms. When Leal arrived for the meeting, an officer pulled up behind the car Leal had described; the car accelerated. Officers stopped the vehicle and found Leal driving. Leal admitted to planning to receive oral sex from Corey—who he believed was under 18–and stated that he deleted the Grindr app as he was being stopped because he knew it was wrong to meet with a 15-year-old.
Leal was charged with attempted enticement of a minor, 18 U.S.C. 2422(b). At Leal’s request, the district court charged the jury with the pattern instruction regarding the entrapment defense. The court also provided the jury with the pattern instruction regarding the permissibility of the government’s use of undercover and deceptive investigative techniques. Convicted, Leal was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 120 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to the jury instruction and the sufficiency of the evidence submitted to prove that Leal was not entrapped.
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