Colorado Man Solicits Children for Prostitution + Gets Probation

Human trafficking, especially when it involves children, is a horrific, despicable, and dark reality that lurks in the underbelly of society. Child sex crimes can carry extremely harsh penalties due to their heinous nature especially considering the innocence of the victims.

That being said, a Colorado man was recently given a seemingly lenient penalty for soliciting prostitution from what he believed to be two underage female children girls.

Colorado Man Solicits for Child Prostitution

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The story begins back on June 12, 2021, when a 71-year-old man checked into a hotel in Pueblo, Colorado, expecting to meet up with two underage girls for sex. The man, a now-72-year-old resident of Lamar, Colorado by the name of Robert James Smith, had traveled from his home in Lamar to meet what he thought were two girls he'd been communicating with.

However, when he arrived at the hotel, he was guided by one undercover police officer to his room to meet more Pueblo County Sheriff's deputies who had set the whole thing up in a sting operation to catch predators like Smith.

Smith had paid the officer $400 to meet up with his child prostitutes who he believed to have been 12 and 14 years of age. 

Luckily, the sting operation succeeded in catching Smith but unfortunately didn't keep him off of the streets for long.

Colorado Man Receives Probation for Soliciting for Child Prostitution

Over a year after Smith was caught, he pleaded guilty to the crime he was arrested for and charged with, which was soliciting for child prostitution. However, it's been reported that the penalty for what Smith did included no jail time.

Instead, Smith was ordered to register as a sex offender in the State of Colorado and has been sentenced to four years of probation.

It's unclear as to whether or not Smith had solicited children for nefarious acts prior to this, but he is currently a free man.

[KRDO]