Updated at 12:25 p.m., Thursday, November 15, 2007
Hawaii professor pleads guilty to luring minor online
Advertiser Staff
University of Hawai'i professor Marc P.C. Fossorier this morning pleaded guilty to electronic enticement of a child and faces punishment of as much as 10 years in prison, deportation and the lifelong label of sex offender.Fossorier's lawyer, Victor Bakke, said, "This is not a pedophile case. If you read the chats, they're pretty innocent and they took place over an eight-month period."
Bakke said Fossorier, 43, an associate professor of engineering, has had an "impeccable" career and has not been in trouble with the law before.
Fossorier was caught in an electronic sting operation run by the Hawai'i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, in which a detective pretended to be a 15-year-old girl in Internet chats with Fossorier.
Fossorier will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Derrick Chan in March 2008.
