Child Enticement
Sufficiency of evidence

Where a defendant masturbated in front of a webcam for a 13-year old, the evidence was sufficient to convict him of enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

"The Government provided more than ample evidence to the jury which showed that Cochran attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce 'Ashley' to watch him fondle himself. He authorized 'Ashley' to view his webcam images and helped her navigate around parent control settings, he called her 'sweet,' talked about 'running round naked' and playing 'strip pool,' sent her romantic emoticons, and detailed what he was doing while fondling himself. Cochran's claim that this was no more than 'the high-tech equivalent of a person walking into a room where a minor is present, or standing in front of an open window in the view of a minor, and exposing and fondling himself,' Appellant Br. at 16, is unavailing, particularly when Cochran attempted to induce 'Ashley' to watch him engage in the same conduct in the future by asking her if she 'liked' what she saw.

The Government provided more than sufficient evidence for the jury to have found that Cochran attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce 'Ashley' to watch him masturbate, and accordingly, we affirm."

Affirmed.

07-3611 U.S. v. Cochran

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Simon, J., Flaum, J.

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