Court backs cops in internet sex case

An appeal of a Pullman man who was convicted of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes after internet exchanges with a fictional 13-year-old has been rejected by the state’s Division III court in Spokane. The appeal contended the state’s law pertaining to the case infringed on free speech first amendment rights.

The defendant in the case, Tarig Mohammed Aljutily, was sentenced to 90 days in jail in May of 2008 and ordered to pay $1,300 in fines and fees after being convicted in a bench trial May 19.

Aljutily has since been charged with failing to register as a sex offender and has bee...