United States of America v. Dustin M. Hatcher

Talahassee, Florida, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with coercion or enticement of a female.



A jury convicted Hatcher of: (1) knowingly

attempting to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor to en-

gage in sexual activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b); and (2)

traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct in violation

of 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b)



On February 15, 2024, the Leon County Sheriff's Office and

the Florida Department of Law Enforcement initiated an online

child-predator sting through an Internet forum called "Fetlife.”

Fetlife is a social networking website for people interested in fetish-

istic and fringe sexual practices. As part of the sting operation, an

undercover agent posted a public message in the group "Classifieds

for N. Florida and S. Georgia” seeking a third person to engage sex-

ually with a male and female. The agent included with his message

the number for a monitored phoneline.





The next day, Hatcher contacted the agent's Fetlife profile

via the forum's internal messaging system. Hatcher indicated his

interest in the agent's post, and the agent messaged him to text the

monitored phoneline. After introducing themselves via text mes-

sage, the following discussion occurred:

Hatcher: "Y'all got any pics?”

Agent: "so before that, would it bother you if me and

my girl are related?”

Hatcher: "No that don't bother me none”

Agent: "good! that messes with people i dont get it”

Hatcher: "Lol it's all good”

Agent: "so weve never had a third before, what kinda

thing would you be willing to do with us?”

Hatcher: "Can I see y'all pics?”

Agent: "so one last thing, my niece is 14”

Hatcher: "Any pics?”

The agent then sent pictures of a white female and white male,

both of whose faces were partially obscured.



* * *

Defendant sentenced to 120 months BOP as to Counts 1 & 2, to run concurrently. 10 years of supervised release as to Counts 1 & 2, to run concurrently with any sentence imposed in. SMA $200. No Fine or JVTA.



Affirmed