HOUSTON
Lauri Price, 42, has been charged by prosecutors in Houston with
two counts of online solicitation of a minor and one count of
enticing a child with the intent to commit a felony.
Authorities say Price started having an online sexual
relationship with the boy, then 15 years old, in September 2008
after meeting him on the Internet video game "World of Warcraft,"
said Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Harris County District
Attorney's Office.
After going to the teen's home in Barrie, Ontario, in February
and failing to lure the boy away, Price continued her online
relationship with him, said Lt. Matthew Gray with the Houston Metro
Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
"She talked to him about sex and a lot of different stuff. It
was a very long, long grooming process. She thought that in
February she had him at that time. She continued to work on him
until she finally felt she broke through," he said.
On Dec. 29, Price flew back to Canada and lured the teen from
his home, taking him to a hotel in Rosseau, about 70 miles away,
and having sex with him, Gray said.
"From our investigation, we have thousands of e-mails and
instant messages to go through," Gray said. "She was very
persistent to say the least."
Price was arrested early Tuesday morning at Houston's Bush
Intercontinental Airport after returning from Canada. She made her
initial court appearance Wednesday.
Her attorney, Skip Cornelius, said he finds it both interesting
and sad that Texas authorities are prosecuting Price for
solicitation even though the boy was old enough in Canada to give
consent.
Price is not facing charges in Canada related to sexual assault
or other charges because the age of consent in that country is 16.
In Texas, it is 17.
"The state authorities are taking the position the
solicitation, since it occurred in Texas and in Texas he's a minor,
is a crime. We'll have to see," Cornelius said.
Before leaving his home, the teen left a note for his mother
saying he was running away with Price. Authorities in Barrie were
looking for the two when an off-duty police officer in Rosseau
spotted them at the hotel, Gray said.
After releasing Price, Canadian police, knowing she could face
possible charges in the United States, told U.S. authorities when
she would be returning to Houston, Gray said.
Price has worked as a permanent substitute teacher with the
Cypress-Fairbanks school district in suburban Houston, and has four
children, Gray said. Prosecutors said after her arrest, Price was
fired from her job.
Price is being held in the Harris County Jail under bonds
totaling $20,000. Cornelius said he expected his client would be
free on bond by Thursday.
If convicted, she faces from two to 10 years in prison and a
fine of up to $10,000 for each charge, Hawkins said.