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Adams v. State

In a case involving a defendant's arrest after arranging on-line to meet an undercover investigator for sex, the trial court's jury charge on the offense of criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes did not violate the defendant's due process rights, even though it deviated from the language in the indictment.

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Following a jury trial, John Lawrence Adams was convicted of criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes1 and making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of a sheriff’s office.2 Adams appeals following the denial of his motion for new trial, arguing that the trial court violated OCGA § 17-8-57 and erred when charging the jury. Adams also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes. We affirm, for the reasons that follow. Viewed in favor of the verdict,3 the record shows that Robyn Still, an investigator with the White County Sheriff’s Department, established an undercover online identity as part of an investigation intended to target child predators. Still identified herself under the pseudonym “Savannah Patterson,” a 14-year-old girl, and she posted a photograph of a 14-year-old child.4

On March 9, 2007, Savannah logged into a regional chat room and was contacted by Adams, whose user name was “million_hamster_march,” and they began communicating through instant messaging. After Savannah disclosed that she was 14 years old, Adams asked her if she liked older men and sex, and Savannah indicated that she was a virgin. Adams then suggested that they meet, describing various sexual acts that he intended to engage in with Savannah, including vaginal, oral, and anal sex. Adams also used a webcam to depict himself masturbating while he communicated with Savannah, and Still recorded the video, which included shots of Adams’s face. At one point, Adams warned Savannah that she should not tell her mother about their conversations and that they needed to “be careful” because he “did not want to get in trouble . . . for being with a minor.”

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