It Was All A Joke

[MalahatTwo7]

Gee, I wonder how many times any given court room has heard those words?

I was just joking around, defendant claims at Internet luring trial

Richard Watts, Times Colonist Published: Thursday, February 28, 2008

Smutty computer chat with a 12-year-old girl, an invitation to meet and an offer of money was all a joke, a man charged with Internet luring insisted yesterday.

James Bruce Colley, a former IBM troubleshooter, took the stand in his own defence yesterday, and said he recognizes his comments were inappropriate. But it wasn't serious.

"I was just joking around with her, talking the talk," said Colley. "It was all just a big joke, a bad joke, but just a joke."

He is now on trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria charged with Internet luring and making an invitation to engage in sexual touching.

He was arrested in early 2006 at the age of 34. But the charges relate back to an online "chat" incident in November 2005. Colley testified he lost his job as a computer troubleshooter after his arrest.

Court has heard the 12-year-old girl, whose name is confidential by court order, and Colley were introduced online one night by a mutual acquaintance, another 12-year-old girl.

Written transcripts introduced at trial show Colley offered to fill the girl's mouth with something besides a drinking straw. He wrote of the two girls "flashing him." He offered his telephone number but only if the girl would talk dirty. And he offered to pay her money if she'll "just meet" him in half an hour.

Court has also heard the whole chat was recorded on the computer at the child's house. It was discovered the next morning by the girl's mother, who called police.

During the chat, Colley also asks twice if the girl "puts out" for her boyfriends.

He then clarifies when the girl asks what he means: "give it up, do the deed, save a horse, ride a cowboy."

When the girl still expresses confusion, Colley responds with "bj's sex."

The entire computer conversation is written in online code and slang. There is almost no punctuation, no capital letters and repeated abbreviations, such as "lol," which court heard stands for "laughing out loud."

What little punctuation found is usually used to form what court heard are called emotion icons, or emoticons. These are little pictures that reveal themselves when the page is turned sideways, such as for a happy face and for sad.

And Colley admitted that at one point "a little flag" went up for him, warning him his remarks weren't proper. But he said the responses always showed the girl understood it was all a joke.

"She didn't stop talking," he said. "So, obviously it wasn't too big a [warning] flag."

Crown and defence are scheduled to make closing remarks today.

Afterward, Justice Victoria Gray, sitting without a jury, will deliver her verdict.

rwatts@tc.canwest.com

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

[Hexxus]

...an invitation to engage in sexual touching.

Oh....my.....god. That's hilarious. What a loser.