United States v. Larive, No. 14-2824 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseThe Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) set up a sting targeting sex trafficking during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. DCI Agent Schnabel posted a Craigslist advertisement: “End of Rally …Travelin through ... and lookin. Fresh young thing. very discrete….” Larive responded by e-mail. Schnabel, posing as “Smith,” offered to sell Larive 30 minutes of sex with for $150, sent a photograph of a female state employee modified to appear underage, and informed Larive that the girl was 15 years old. After negotiation, Larive agreed to trade a cell phone for an hour of sex. They agreed to meet at a Hardee’s restaurant at 8:00 p.m.. DCI agents watched Larive before the meeting. Larive left his residence shortly after 8:00 p.m., drove slowly through the Hardee’s lot, and exited the lot. They agents initiated a traffic stop. After arresting Larive, they recovered a cell phone from his vehicle. Larive admitted that he had discussed trading the phone for sex with a 15-year-old girl, and that he was going to Hardee’s to meet the girl, but claimed that he was not going to go through with it until he talked to “Smith.” The Eighth Circuit affirmed his conviction for attempted commercial sex trafficking, rejecting Larive’s argument that he abandoned the attempt before taking a substantial step toward completion of the offense.
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Wollman, Circuit Judge, and White, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. Defendant took a substantial step towards completion of the offense of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, and the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; once the attempt was completed by finishing negotiations for the girl's service and traveling to a meeting place, defendant was not entitled to an abandonment defense based on his act of leaving the meeting place.
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