State v. Benjamin Charette, 189 A.3d 67

Defendant exchanged messages online with an account he believed to be a 13‑year‑old girl and agreed to meet for sex; the account was an undercover adult police officer.
Defendant pled guilty to attempted luring of a child under 13 V.S.A. § 2828 and received an agreed sentence, with the registration issue reserved.
Trial court ordered defendant to register as a sex offender under 13 V.S.A. § 5401(10)(B), which covers listed offenses “against a victim who is a minor” and expressly includes attempts.
Defendant appealed, arguing the statute requires an actual minor victim and thus does not apply when the purported victim is an undercover adult.
The State argued the statute’s inclusion of attempts means it covers convictions where the offender intended to target a minor, even if the victim was fictitious or an undercover officer.
The Supreme Court affirmed, holding the registration requirement applies when the defendant believed the victim was a minor.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether sex‑offender registration under 13 V.S.A. § 5401(10)(B) applies when the convicted offense was an attempt directed at a putative minor who was actually an undercover adult	Registration applies because statute covers attempts directed at a minor and protects public safety	Registration does not apply because the statute requires an actual, real minor victim	Registration applies: statute’s inclusion of attempts and purpose show it covers attempted offenses against a putative minor the defendant believed to be underage

State v. Thompson, 174 Vt. 172 (2002) (statutory interpretation should effectuate legislative intent and consider the statute as a whole)
State v. Kerr, 143 Vt. 597 (1983) (court will not read language into a statute unless necessary)
Spivey v. State, 619 S.E.2d 346 (Ga. Ct. App. 2005) (attempted internet sexual offenses involving an undercover officer require sex‑offender registration)
Czyzewski v. N.H. Dep’t of Safety, 70 A.3d 444 (N.H. 2013) (registration statute applying to victims under 18 covers attempts where defendant subjectively believed the victim was a minor)
Colbert v. Commonwealth, 624 S.E.2d 108 (Va. Ct. App. 2006) (solicitation to a purported minor in a sting falls within the statute’s evil and requires registration)
People v. Buerge, 240 P.3d 363 (Colo. App. 2009) (when statute includes attempts, “victim” in relevant provisions can mean the intended victim)
United States v. Dodge, 597 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2010) (federal registration statute applies when defendant believed the target was a minor)