Rural California DA Joins Sex Sting Bandwagon

The Tehama County DA announced the first arrest following its newly launched Operation Safe Sam, a sting operation where the Sheriff’s office runs fake MySpace ads under the guise of an adolescent girl looking for excitement. Tehama County DA sting run on MySpace
Benjamin Dennis, 32, responded to the MySpace profile and propositioned the “girl,” according to the DA’s charge. Following 8 days of emails and after the two agreed to meet, Dennis was arrested and arraigned on February 19, 2008; his preliminary hearing is set for March 10, 2008; he faces a maximum sentence of five years, eight months in state prison; when he is released he will obligated to register as a sex offender, if convicted.

As an attorney who once lived and practiced criminal law in rural Northern CA (Humboldt and Mendocino counties), it is flat-out irresponsible to spend the little money rural county CA law enforcement has available on such stings.

If the DA was looking for those preying on pre-pubescent girls, the stings would be justified.

Although men should not be trying to have sex with teenagers, albeit teenagers not only willing to have sex but advertising for it, why spend money arresting and convicting them of when that same money could be spent trying to locate and stop real sexual predators?