The biggest hassle is showing up at the designated meeting spot to arrest the suspect. Others argue that they are victims of police entrapment. But neither argument has proved effective. FBI officials say computer messages such as those recorded in the Naughton case are proof enough of a suspect's intent. And entrapment isn't an issue, FBI officials said, because agents let suspects control their online encounters.
Few cases go to trial.
Most suspects are middle-income white males who cringe at the prospect of having their sexual fantasies read aloud before a jury. It's very simple. So simple that law enforcement agencies across the country are scrambling to set up stings of their own. Aden said the FBI has offered sex sting instruction to agencies ranging from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to prosecutors from New Zealand. In Southern California, eight agencies have assigned undercover officers to do sting work as part of an FBI-coordinated program called the Sex Assault Felony Enforcement Team.