Man sentenced under new cyber luring law

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

The first person indicted in Hawai'i for using a computer to lure a child for sex was sentenced yesterday to five years' probation and two months in jail.

Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto also ordered Grant Detwiler, 27, of Kaimuki to undergo sex-offender treatment and to avoid visiting Internet Web sites that would allow him to have conversations with children.

Detwiler was indicted in February under a law created by the 2002 Legislature.

Deputy Attorney General Mark McConnell, who prosecuted the case, had asked Sakamoto to sentence Detwiler to up to 10 years in prison.

While he denied that request, Sakamoto also denied Detwiler's request to defer accepting his no-contest plea, which would have allowed him to avoid a permanent criminal record.

Detwiler, a motorcycle mechanic, used his computer at home to conduct an electronic chat with a person who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. During the chat session, Detwiler asked the purported 13-year-old to meet him and said that he wanted sex. The "girl" turned out to be a Honolulu police officer.

Law-enforcement officers assigned to the Hawai'i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Detwiler when he arrived at the meeting.

Tips to help parents and young people use the Internet safely can be found at a Web site created by the Task Force.

The site also contains information about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's Cybertipline. The tip line is staffed by center personnel and law enforcement officers around the clock to receive reports of suspicious activity involving possible electronic offenses against children.