Court defers
enticement chargeA convict who sought sex
with a minor girl could have
his record expunged in five years
A 21-year-old man convicted in state court of using the Internet to entice a minor girl to have sex was granted a five-year deferral of his no-contest plea.
Daniel Adam Chavez, formerly a fireman in the U.S. Air Force who now lives on the mainland, was facing a maximum 10 years in prison for the offense. If he abides by court-imposed conditions throughout the five-year period, he could have the charge erased from his record.
Chavez, then 19, was arrested in November 2002 at a Zippy's Restaurant where he agreed to meet the person he believed was a 14-year-old girl and who turned out to be an undercover police officer. He was indicted in September and pleaded no contest in December.
Chavez told Circuit Judge Michael Wilson yesterday that he knew what he did was wrong, and expressed remorse for his actions.
His attorney, deputy public defender Todd Eddins, said the deferral will allow his client to attempt to get another firefighter position on the mainland.
"A young man made a serious error in judgment, and the court afforded him an opportunity to avoid having that mistake follow him around the rest of his life," Eddins said.
Chavez's former supervisors had submitted letters to the court in support of him, calling him their top firefighter and describing his conduct as "out of character," Eddins said.
Deputy Attorney General Dwight Nadamoto had argued that Chavez should receive the maximum sentence given that he had gone online previously and met a 15-year-old girl with whom he later had sex.
Chavez was not charged in that incident because the difference in their ages at the time was slightly less than five years and the sex was consensual, Nadamoto said.
Chavez also was caught communicating with another 14-year-old girl online after he was arrested in November 2002, Nadamoto said.
Chavez did not show up for a planned first meeting with the first 14-year-old girl, but after subsequent discussions online that included more explicit language, he agreed to meet her, Nadamoto said.
Chavez later said that when he saw the undercover officer, he knew that she was not 14, but that he believed the person he was communicating with was 14, Nadamoto said.