On August 18, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office charged Gregory Fisher, 53, with numerous crimes after he allegedly attempted to solicit commercial sex from an undercover police officer posing as a minor. Fisher is charged with 16 felonies, including trafficking in individuals, patronizing a victim of human trafficking, patronizing a victim of sexual servitude, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, promoting prostitution of a minor, sexual abuse of a child, and unlawful contact with a minor. The case is currently inactive, and no future hearings are scheduled.
On May 11, an undercover police officer posted an advertisement on “Skip the Games,” a website commonly used by sex buyers to connect with persons in prostitution. Fisher allegedly responded to the advertisement inquiring how much it would cost to have sex with her, and the undercover officer advised Fisher that “she” was actually 15 years old. Fisher then allegedly inquired about her hourly rate and asked if she had any friends who could join them in his vehicle. The officer responded by saying the rate was $150 an hour, and she did have a friend. Reportedly, Fisher then asked the officerfor a nude photo of herself and her friend. When the officer objected to the request, Fisher allegedly declined to meet because he “needed to make sure she was a girl.”
This case reflects a growing reliance on proactive investigative techniques, including undercover operations, to combat sex trafficking of minors. These methods allow law enforcement to identify and prosecute the sex buyers who create demand for sexual access to minors, an essential component in addressing trafficking at its source and a central tenet of the Equality Model. The Equality Model promotes the (1) decriminalization of people in prostitution, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators, (3) public education about the harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, holistic exit services for survivors. The Equality Model recognizes that individuals who seek to purchase sexual access to minors—whether or not the act is ultimately completed—fuel a market that places vulnerable individuals at risk.
Although Fisher was charged with 19 criminal counts, we do have concerns about the factual support for some of these charges. For example, the indecent assault and involuntary deviant sexual intercourse charges both require contact or actual sexual intercourse, which wasn’t present here. In cases involving proactive investigative strategies, such as the undercover stings, prosecutors often rely on attempt liability. However, Pennsylvania’s attempt statute requires the defendant take a “substantial step” towards the commission of the crime with the intent to complete it. In Commonwealth v. Jennings, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that a defendant sex buyer completed a substantial step when he drove to meet whom he believed to be an underage girl and was arrested at the agreed upon meeting location. In this case, Fisher’s alleged communication with the undercover officer, with no plan to meet in person, likely fails to satisfy the substantial step requirement for the purpose of attempt liability.
The CSE Institute hopes, however, that the Dauphin County DA’s Office will continue to pursue the charges that are supported by the facts. For example, Fisher’s alleged conduct meets the elements of unlawful contact with a minor. If one intentionally contacts a minor or law enforcement officer who has assumed the identity of a minor for the purpose of commercial sex, they are guilty of unlawful contact with a minor. Notably, an attempt at either contact for prostitution or sexual exploitation also satisfies the criminal elements, and the statute explicitly carves out the undercover officer provision. The deliberate inclusion of both attempts and contact with an undercover officer adopting the persona of a minor increases the latitude for conviction under this statute.
The CSE Institute commends Dauphin County law enforcement for utilizing proactive investigation techniques to target sex buyers and intervene before an actual child is harmed. Appropriate enforcement of trafficking and attempt statutes alongside continued vigilance and technological savviness remain essential for the prevention of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Further, we recognize the efforts of the Dauphin County DA’s Office to secure a conviction against Fisher and combat sexual exploitation in the region and across the state.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed therein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.