20 A.3d 291
N.H.2011Background
- In Oct. 2007, Farrington, 21, lived in Londonderry with a computer and internet access and had a Facebook account with an Are you interested? application that could send users' photos to others.
- A.D. was 13 when she interacted with Farrington on Facebook and later via AIM, with multiple chats from Oct.–Dec. 2007 that included flirtatious and sexual comments.
- Dunn, posing as A.D. or A.D.'s brother, engaged Farrington in conversations that contained increasingly sexual content and invitations to meet, including discussions about sex.
- Farrington traveled to Nashua in December 2007 to meet an underage girl, bringing condoms and lubrication, after Dunn allegedly arranged or prompted the encounter; police were alerted and Farrington was questioned.
- Investigators found chat sessions between Farrington and A.D.; Farrington admitted going to Nashua to meet an underage girl and to have sex, and he consented to a search of his home computer.
- The Superior Court denied Farrington’s motion to dismiss; the jury convicted him of a prohibited use of computer services; on appeal, the issue was sufficiency of the evidence, with the court ultimately affirming a broad reading of the statute to uphold conviction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether RSA 649-B:4 requires an explicit request to engage in sexual activity. | Farrington argues no explicit request occurred. | Farrington contends the four uses require an explicit request for sexual activity. | Yes; the statute can be satisfied by overall provocative conduct, not explicit requests. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Jennings, 159 N.H. 1 (2009) (broadly interprets 'seduce, solicit, lure, or entice' to include indirect temptations)
- State v. Lacasse, 153 N.H. 670 (2006) (affirmed view that evidence is assessed in context for sufficiency)
- United States v. Lay, 583 F.3d 436 (6th Cir. 2009) (computer-based enticement can establish for enhancement)
- United States v. Reaves, 253 F.3d 1201 (10th Cir. 2001) (computer-enabled exploitation of minors is broader than explicit proposals)