Luring Child into Motor Vehicle or Structure

When an adult is charged with enticing a child to enter a car or house, their life will change abruptly. The accusations can end your marriage, devastate your family, alienate your friends and cost you your job – even if you are not convicted. Your name may be in the newspaper and your face on the TV news. Being charged is a frightening and depressing experience. If you have been questioned by the police or arrested, it’s essential that you immediately retain an experienced defense attorney.

What You Need To Know About Luring A Child Into A Motor Vehicle Or Structure

In Pennsylvania as in most states, it is illegal to lure a child into a motor vehicle or structure without a parent or guardian’s consent unless the child needs assistance.

• Structures are defined in broad terms that include houses, apartments, stores, warehouses, cargo containers, trailers, campers and boats.

If you are convicted, you can face a misdemeanor of the first degree and up to five years in prison.

Your Defense

Your key defense for this charge is that you lured or tried to lure the child for a lawful purpose.

What To Do If You Are Charged

If you are charged with luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure, do not anger the arresting officer unnecessarily.

You will probably be held in jail overnight. At this stage, do not discuss what happened with the police or claim your innocence.

• As with most criminal charges, you should not talk to the police or prosecutors without your attorney by your side. What you say can be taken out of context and used against you.
• If the police question you, tell them you want a lawyer and politely refuse to answer their questions.

What Your Lawyer Can Do

Your attorney will carefully review every aspect of your case to determine if there is evidence for all you have been accused of.

• If you lured the child for a lawful reason, your lawyer will find proof that you did.
• If you had the consent of the child’s parent or guardian, your lawyer will find proof and witnesses to confirm it.
• If it is a you-said/they-said situation, where the only evidence against you is an accusation, you will be in a stronger position.
• Your lawyer will make every effort to discredit any evidence not in your favor.

Your lawyer will be looking at every avenue that can help you, so it’s important that you give them all of the information that can support your case.

How A Lawyer Will Help

When you are up against a luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure charge, even before your first hearing you will be facing a determined prosecutor and the Commonwealth’s strict laws. You need an attorney who will stand by you every step of the way, work hard to discredit any evidence – and work with you to determine your best course of action.

Pennsylvania Luring A Child Into A Motor Vehicle Or Structure Law

Luring a child into a motor vehicle or structure is described and defined under The Pennsylvania Criminal Code under Title 18, Chapter 29. Read the code here.