[Puffer Fish]

Does this seem like a kind of excessive prison sentence, considering the crime?

1. The boy was 17, one year away from consent
2. Actual physical interaction did not happen
3. The boy willingly did this on his own, there was no force, coercion, or deceit
4. The "victim" was the one who did the sex acts and sent the video

There have been persons who committed (real) rape and have been sentenced to less time in several European countries. (Not that that is any excuse, but just something to note and point out here, for the sake of comparison)


Thursday, December 20, 2018

Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Paying Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity over Skype

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM GAUVIN, 43, of Andover, Massachusetts, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for paying a minor to engage in sexual activity over Skype.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately October 2016 and March 2017, Gauvin, using the name "Will Wiggins", solicited a 17-year-old boy in Connecticut to engage in sexually explicit conduct over Skype. In exchange for the minor victim transmitting visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct to Gauvin, Gauvin paid the minor victim more than $3,000 using PayPal. Gauvin also asked the minor victim to persuade his brother, who was 15, to engage in sexually explicit conduct in exchange for money.

Gauvin resided in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the time of the criminal conduct.

The investigation revealed that Gauvin also paid other minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct online.

Gauvin was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on November 1, 2017. On September 25, 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

Gauvin, who is released on a $100,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on February 15, 2019.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Connecticut State Police, with the assistance of the Worcester Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.

[Beren]

The actual problem here is that he paid him (a lot), so the minor prostituted himself for him, which is highly criminal.

[Puffer Fish]

The actual problem here is that he paid him (a lot), so the minor prostituted himself for him, which is highly criminal.

I know, but why is prostitution wrong? This wasn't an actual physical interaction, this was a video.
They never actually met.

Seems to me the majority of the usual arguments against prostitution would not apply.

[Beren]

I know

Do you know what a minor is? It's not an adult, for example.