We have previously written that authorities in Maryland and elsewhere are going to great lengths to troll and monitor the internet. Their goal is to catch would-be criminals in the act, especially those engaged in computer sex crimes such as the download of child pornography or online solicitation of minors.

One common method of catching suspects is to set up sting operations. Officers pose online as minors or the parents of minors and set up meetings that promise sex or other illegal acts. But are these sting operations legal and legitimate, or do they constitute entrapment?

Over the course of one such operation in Florida, police arrested 23 different men as each arrived for a prearranged meeting, allegedly expecting a sexual rendezvous with a minor.

But one of the defendants claims that he was a victim of police entrapment. When responding to the ad on Craigslist, the man says he thought he was meeting an adult woman and that they would be going on a date.

Legal experts say that there is often a very fine line between a sting operation and entrapment. And if police cross that line, prosecutors will often refuse to pursue the case.

A law professor explains: "If law enforcement simply affords someone who is already predisposed to commit a crime an opportunity to commit that crime, that is not entrapment."

A state attorney in Florida adds that to avoid an entrapment scenario, "You can provide the opportunity, but you cannot provide the idea."

As we have previously written, one should practice extreme caution when interacting with a stranger online, especially if the topic of conversation could be interpreted as sexual or illegal in nature. And even if you're intentions are innocent, you can never be sure who is on the other end.

Source: Gainesville.com, "Man arrested in child-sex sting says he was entrapped," Cindy Swirko, Feb. 16, 2012