People v. Valete CA1/1

BACKGROUND

The San Francisco County District Attorney filed an information charging defendant with felony meeting a minor for lewd purposes (§ 288.4, subd. (b)—count 1); felony contact with a minor for sexual offense (§ 288.3, subd. (a)—count 2); and misdemeanor arranging to meet with a minor for lewd purposes (§ 288.4, subd. (a)(1)—count 3). At trial, San Francisco Police Sergeant Christopher Servat explained the “Internet Crimes Against Children Unit” “investigate[s] individuals who use the Internet to what we call sexual[ly] exploit[] . . . minors,” “investigate[s] individuals that attempt to meet children online to have sexual contact with them, and then we also investigate individuals that download, distribute, and possess child pornography.” As part of its investigations, the unit will perform “undercover operations,” in which officers “pose as underage children on social media sites or chat sites and basically find individuals that are trying to target children for sexual exploitation.” Sergeant Servat set up an account on Grindr, “a geosocial networking and online dating application geared towards gay, bi, trans, and queer

2 people,”2 on a department-issued phone. Servat…