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But one of the elements of the crime is the age of the victim. There was no under age victim. IE no victim, no crime. Solicitation has a victim, and a substantial step to committing the crime has to happen. If a person goes trolling the streets for a hooker, there is always the substantial step of setting a price for an activity, and the presence of a vendor. Every person knows that the next step is the sex. Likewise with hiring a hitman. Scotty "the perve" went to a meeting with a young person in mind, but the young person, the object of his crime did not exist. He could never commit the crime nor take any substantial steps to because the victim does not exist.

If you wanted to do real police work, you could seize his hard drive, and get his correspondence, find some real victims and make a case based on real victims. The invention of victims is one of the bizarre areas of law enforcement that seem to be in vogue because it is easy, and in these cases the accusation is so inflamatory that it suffices as punishment.

DK