Facebook Used to Proposition 14-year-old Girl
Jacob Perritt, a 35 year old man from St. Clair, Michigan has been charged with computer and soliciting minor felonies as a result of his attempt to solicit sex via Facebook. In September 2013, Perritt allegedly sent sexually explicit messages and a nude picture of himself to a 14-year-old girl. He also sent a sexual proposition.
A relative saw the pictures on the girl’s phone and reported it to the local police, who in turn contacted the Attorney General’s Criminal Division. The Michigan State Police, working with the FBI, investigated the allegations through the Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force. Computer and soliciting minor charges were filed as a result of this investigation.
Perritt is currently being held at East Pointe County Jail with bail set at $10,000. The preliminary exam has been set for May 30th in East Pointe District Court.
The Criminal Division of the Attorney General’s Office has charged Perritt with one count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime. This is a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. Perritt has also been charged with one count of Soliciting a Minor for Immoral Purposes. This is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $4,000.00, or both.
The law in Michigan defines ‘Soliciting a Minor for Immoral Purposes’ as not just attempting to engage an underaged person in sex, but also as trying to get an underaged person to “commit an immoral act, to submit to an act of sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency, or to any other act of depravity or delinquency.” It also defines the age of consent as 16 years old.