AUSTIN, Texas �� The 16-year-old girl who Austin police say received $500 in exchange for having sex with gun-rights activist Cody Wilson in August would have had to lie about her age to be registered on the dating site where authorities say Wilson met her.
SugarDaddyMeet.com, a platform that aims to pair wealthy adult men with young women, requires new users to check a box stating they are at least 18 years old. Members are blocked from listing an age younger than 18 on their public dating profile.
But a reading of state law shows the girl's possible misrepresentation won't make a difference in Wilson's case, as deception about someone's age is not a defense for adults who are charged with having sex with someone younger than 17, the age of consent in Texas. For that reason, multiple defense lawyers said Wilson will have a difficult time beating his case if prosecutors can prove he had sex with the girl.
Police filed an affidavit alleging that Wilson, 30, agreed to meet the girl at a coffee shop in South Austin Aug. 15. The two had previously exchanged lewd text messages, with Wilson sending the girl a picture of his genitals, police said. He and the girl got into Wilson's SUV and went to a hotel in North Austin and had sex, the arrest affidavit states. Police allege that Wilson then pulled out five $100 bills and paid the girl before dropping her off at a restaurant in South Austin.
Police have said the girl registered for the dating site on her own, but it is unclear whether she revealed her true age in conversations with Wilson. Any possible deception is immaterial, said Austin defense attorney Daniel Wannamaker.
"The onus is on the adult to make certain the person he's having sex with is of age," Wannamaker said. "You just simply can't take somebody's word for it. Even if the girl lies to you or has a fake ID, the person's still in trouble. It's kind of a strict liability crime where there's no duty on the part of the child victim to tell the truth."
Austin defense lawyer Rick Flores, who has defended clients he says were duped into having sex with underage girls, said the law leaves little wiggle room for the accused.
"It's un-PC to call it statutory rape, but that's what you hear it called on TV and that's what it's informally referred to," he said.
Flores said he wouldn't be surprised if Wilson's defense team argues in court that the girl lied about her age to try to lessen any sentence he might get.
But police appear already to be countering that strategy. At a news conference shortly after the case was made public, Austin police Cmdr. Troy Officer said, "Detectives have interviewed and spoken with this victim, and in their opinion, if someone mistakes her age, it would be because they think she's younger, not older than the 16-year-old that she is."
Wilson was arrested Sept. 21 in Taipei after Taiwanese authorities tracked him to an apartment where they say he had inquired about signing a six-month lease. Austin authorities think Wilson fled to Taiwan after a friend of the victim's tipped him off about the investigation. He was charged with sexual assault, a second-degree felony, and was released from a Houston jail after posting $150,000 bail.
Authorities have left open the possibility of filing additional charges, perhaps related to the payment police say Wilson made to the girl. Solicitation of prostitution is a misdemeanor in Texas, but because the victim is younger than 18, the offense would be a second-degree felony.
Wilson faces two to 20 years in prison if convicted. A probation sentence of up to 10 years would be available to him if he has not been convicted of any past felony offenses. A search of Texas criminal records showed no previous arrests in the state.
Wilson hired Houston defense lawyer Samy Khalil said in a statement: "We are glad that Cody is back in Texas again where we can work with him on his case. That's our focus right now, representing our client and preparing his defense."
Wilson, a University of Texas law school dropout from Little Rock, Ark., burst on the national issue of gun regulation when his company, Defense Distributed, publicized online instructions for making untraceable plastic guns with a 3D printer. In August, a federal judge ruled in favor of 19 states and Washington, D.C., and blocked the company from posting the instructions, which were available to download free. The company responded by selling them at a name-your-own price.
Wilson resigned Sept. 21 as CEO of Defense Distributed and will have no future role in the company, said Paloma Heindorff, who was named the company's new director.
