Police Sting Tactics at Issue before BC Supreme Court

May 14, 2010

Report by Sandra McCulloch for the Victoria Times Colonist, 12 May 2010:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Judge+decide+sought+with+girl/3017079/story.html

A B.C. Supreme Court judge is expected to decide today whether a Victoria man, charged after a sting operation, intended to buy sex from a 16-year-old girl.

Pai-Thih Chiang, 39, is charged with communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.

He was arrested by Saanich police at the Accent Inn on Blanshard Street April 14, 2009, following the undercover operation.

Police posted an advertisement online on [CL] offering "sexy, new and hot" females aged 19.

It's normal for prostitutes who are underage to claim to be 19, said Const. Andrew Stuart of Saanich police in court yesterday.

Nine of the individuals who responded to the police ad said they were not interested in having sex with anyone underage, Stuart testified.

Younger prostitutes are more attractive to clients than older ones, he said, noting prostitutes will often lie about their age, pretending to be younger than they are.

Chiang exchanged e-mails and had a telephone conversation with undercover officers posing as intermediaries.

Prosecutor Nils Jensen told the court Chiang heard there were two girls available: Janelle, 16, and Courtney, 17.

In a subsequent phone call, a female officer posing as a madam told Chiang she wanted to go over the "ground rules" because the girl he wanted to meet, Janelle, was only 16.

"She's only 16?" Chiang responded.

"Well yeah, I told you that in the e-mail," responded the officer.

Chiang is told that Janelle "is eager and wants to please," said Jensen.

"But is that all right?" Chiang responded and the undercover officer confirmed the girl is under the legal age.

Chiang then asked, "Do you have some kind of a card or ID for me to look at?" It's not clear if he was asking for identification from the madam or the girl, the court heard.

The ground rule was that no rough sex was allowed due to the girl's age, said Jensen. Chiang's response, said Jensen, was that he was "not like that. I'd never be rough."

Chiang was told the cost would be $150 for a half-hour and he responded, "Yeah, I'll check it out."

He obtained the key and went to the hotel, Jensen said. He unlocked the door and hesitated, glancing right and left. He entered the room and found there was no girl but four Saanich police officers ready to place him under arrest.

Jensen said it was a "fairly straightforward" case of communicating for the purpose of having sex with an underage female.

But Chiang's lawyer, Michael Mulligan, said the Crown's case is flawed.

There is no proof of what Chiang intended to do and the case is therefore based on circumstantial evidence, Mulligan said.

The online ad clearly advertised females of legal age and showed images of a 30-year-old woman, he noted, adding Chiang's apparent shock that the girl was 16 "is utterly inconsistent with a person communicating for the purpose of obtaining sex from a person under 18."

Chiang's statement that he would "check it out" might have meant he would go to the room and see if the female was an appropriate age, he said, arguing the case cannot be built on speculation.

Justice David Harris is expected to give his decision on the case today.

Update on 13 May 2010:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Judge+delays+ruling+teen+prostitution+case/3022178/story.html

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has put off making a decision on whether a Victoria man communicated to buy sex from a 16-year-old girl.

Pai-Thih Chiang, 39, was arrested by Saanich police on April 14, 2009, after police posing as intermediaries lured him to a hotel on the premise a 16-year-old girl was available for sex.

The Criminal Code section pertaining to child prostitution is relatively new and there's limited case law to offer guidance in deciding guilt or innocence, Justice David Harris said yesterday.

He told prosecutor Nils Jensen and defence counsel Michael Mulligan he had concerns over the wording of the law, specifically the part that bans communicating for the purpose of obtaining sexual services of a person who is under 18.

"Does there have to be a prostitute?" Harris asked the lawyers.

He asked lawyers to research case law and determine if the law was applicable in cases where police stings create fictitious girls.

Harris said he will hear submissions this morning and announce a decision at a later date.

May 14, 2010

Nice find WIT. As always it pays to be careful. One more reason to stick to Cerb which is not a guarantee but at least is much safer.

The accused definitely should have broken the whole thing off when the "girl's" underage status was revealed.

rickoshadows · May 14, 2010

The guy was going for the underage thing. At the risk of sounding bigoted, ***************REMOVED COMMENT***********.

There are so many options in Victoria, there is no reason to go for anything shady. Notice the other nine guys weren't interested at all.

mod · May 14, 2010

At the risk of sounding bigoted? (Not the risk... that is most defiantly a bigoted statement). I have removed that comment... please do not make comments like that.

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Police Sting Tactics at Issue before BC Supreme Court

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