Under United States law, specifically U.S.S.G.§ 2G1.3(b)(3), the use of computers to persuade minors for illicit ends carriers extra legal ramifications.

The opinion written by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit begins by citing Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's musing that "Everything has a computer in it nowadays.

The pair drove to the Comfort Inn in Willow Springs, Missouri, where Kramer "plied the victim with illegal narcotics and then engaged in sexual intercourse with her."

[2] In court, Kramer was charged with transporting a minor across state lines in order to engage in illegal sexual activity, a violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 1030(e)(1) (the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act), which states a computer is an: electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or other high speed data processing device performing logical, arithmetic, or storage functions, and includes any data storage facility or communications facility directly related to or operating in conjunction with such device [7]The Court of Appeals acknowledged that the language of 18 U.S.C.

[1] Kramer's first contention was that the district court erred in applying the enhancement "because a cellular telephone, when used only to make voice calls and send text messages, cannot be a computer as defined in 18 U.S.C.

"[1] In effect, Kramer argued that United States v. Lay "implicitly distinguished [the] use of a cellular telephone from use of a traditional computer" [8] thus, the enhancement should apply only when a device is used to access the Internet.

The Court of Appeals disagreed; however, concluding that Kramer's reliance on United States v. Lay was misplaced for "there is nothing in the statutory definition that purports to exclude devices because they lack a connection to the Internet.