Mich. Man Jailed for 6 Months After Meeting Teen Boy on Grindr

A man from Brighton, Mich., was sentenced to six months in jail Thursday after having sexual encounters with a then-15-year-old teen he met on Grindr, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Prosecution wanted Alex Peter Benedict, 24, jailed for a year, saying the sentence "was a fair recommendation in light of his conduct." But Benedict's defense attorney argued for less jail time, noting Benedict thought the person he was meeting on the gay hookup app would be an adult.

"Although (Benedict is) technically guilty of these offenses because of the strict liability ... he really didn't do anything that isn't responsible or wrong," defense attorney Rolland Sizemore said, according to the newspaper. "He didn't card the (complainant) and he shouldn't have had to. He was in an environment that's restricted to adults only. ...

"He was trying to do the right thing. He was trying to act appropriately," Sizemore added. "He made the mistake of finding someone who wasn't allowed to engage in that activity."

The Detroit Free Press reports that in criminal law, strict liability states a defendant can be convicted even if he was genuinely ignorant of an element, such as age. Judge Michael P. Hatty agreed that strict liability was the issue. According to Michigan law, a teen under 16 cannot legally give consent to a sexual encounter.

"I did not see predatory conduct, but he has a duty to make sure the person is of age," Hatty said. "I do recognize the circumstances under which this happened."

Benedict was sentenced under the state's Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. He will also serve three years probation with the first six months in the county jail for third-degree criminal sexual conduct, accosting a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to commit the crime.

Under the act, Benedict will not have a public criminal record if he successfully completes the probation.

Benedict was one of four men who separately "connected with" the teen boy via Grindr, police said, according to the Detroit Free Press. The alleged encounters occurred in January and March and they were reported to the authorities by a family member of the teen, who is now 16.

The three other men were also charged. Their cases are currently moving through the local courts, the newspaper notes.