A 39-year-old mother lured teenage boys to her home over the Internet and had sex with them, according to police here. Joyce Smith was arrested Feb. 10 after she surrendered to San Diego police and faces charges involving three boys 14-17.
Lt. Bill Edwards tells APBNews this appears to be the first Internet-related case involving a female seductress and underage male victims. "It's a role reversal," Edwards tells the crime news service. "Typically, similar cases involve a male suspect and a female victim."
Smith has been charged with multiple counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with minors. California law mandates a four year sentence for sex with anyone under 16.
It started with an anonymous tip to a San Diego County child abuse hotline during January. Edwards says police served a search warrant on Smith's home Feb. 2 and seized computer equipment and evidence that tying the boys to the house.
The incidents in question happened in the second half of 1999, he tells APBNews, with Smith talking to the boys in online chat rooms and inviting them to her San Diego home, where she gave them alcoholic beverages and had sex with them.
Edwards says three victims are confirmed but there may have been more. "(W)e're trying to get them to come forward," he tells APBNews.
Smith reportedly is known for participating in street racing contests popular among teens in her neighborhood, APBNews says. But Edwards says those activities are easier for parents to monitor than the Internet.
