Former Internet Exec Says FBI Pressured Him

Attorneys for former Internet executive Patrick J. Naughton said he was pressured by undercover FBI agents to agree to the illegal sexual rendezvous that led to his arrest, according to opening statements on the first day of his federal trial. Attorney Donald Marks said Naughton, accused of using the Net to solicit sex from a minor, was repeatedly prompted by an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl to commit to a meeting. When Naughton did show up at the Santa Monica Pier for such a meeting, it was mainly because he was curious and had time to kill before a meeting at Walt Disney Co. the next day. “He said, ‘To heck with it. I’ll go to Santa Monica to see who this is,’ ” Marks said. Prosecutors spent the opening day of the trial detailing the numerous messages to an undercover agent in which Naughton allegedly made a series of sexual propositions. Assistant U.S. Atty. Patricia Donahue quoted Naughton as saying in one chat session, “I love 13-year-old girls.” Naughton was formerly an executive vice president with the Go Network, a top Internet site operated by Disney.