Skip to main content

Man Answers Boy's Craigslist Ad for Sex; Gets 12 Years in Prison

By Daniel Taylor, Esq. on November 19, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A Florida man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after answering a teenage boy's Craigslist ad seeking "adult companionship" and engaging in sexual activity with the teen.

50-year-old Brian Keith Dunn of Coral Springs pleaded guilty to coercing or enticing a minor into engaging in sexual activity, reports the Sun Sentinel. Dunn admitted to communicating with the 14-year-old by text and email, but maintained he never actually met the boy face-to-face.

Police told a different story, however.

Craigslist Ad Received 30 Responses From Men, Women

Dunn and the teen began communicating after the 14-year-old posted an ad on Craigslist seeking what authorities characterized as "adult companionship." Dunn's lawyer alleged the teen posted the ad in order to make money by way of prostitution and that the teen's ad received 30 responses from both men and women.

Among those who responded to the ad was Dunn, whose explicit text messages to the teen were discovered when the teen returned the cell phone he had been borrowing from his mother. The boy told police that he had met Dunn in park, driven to a movie theater parking lot, and engaged in oral sex. An officer posing as the teen arranged to meet with Dunn at the same park where the teen had told police the two had met earlier, where police arrested Dunn and charged him with coercion and enticement.

Coercion and Enticement

Under federal law, coercion and enticement includes any person using "means of interstate or foreign commerce" who "knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense." A conviction under this section is punishable by a fine and a prison sentence of between 10 years and life in prison.

After pleading guilty to coercion and enticement, Dunn was sentenced to 12 years, six months in federal prison. The father of the boy involved in the case said the boy has been placed into intensive counseling.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard