An Edmonton man charged with using the internet to link up with a 12-year-girl in Ontario has been found not guilty after a judge ruled that "dirty talk" does not constitute luring.

"The conduct, as morally reprehensible as it is, is not caught by the legislation," said Justice John Agrios. "I simply cannot find an indication the accused was luring the child."

The case, which may have broad impact on Canada's internet luring law, centred on Craig Legare, who faced charges of luring a child under 14 and invitation to sexual touching.

In April 2003, Legare, who was 32, met the 12-year-old in an internet chat room, Agrios was told.

He allegedly told her he was 17, and she said she was 13. In two explicit text conversations, they reportedly both talked about having sex.

They later traded contact information, and Legare followed up with a phone call in which he said he wanted to perform a sexual act on the girl, the trial was told. She hung up and her father phoned police.

Agrios ruled the online conversations weren't enough to convict Legare.

He said the transcript of the second discussion was almost all sexual, but there wasn't sufficient evidence to say he was luring her.

Legare's lawyer, Laura Stevens, said her client was only fantasizing and never wanted to meet the girl.

Questions raised about luring law's intent

But Crown prosecutor Steve Bilodeau argued that Legare wanted to have sex with the girl and she was harmed by the conversation.

He said that when Parliament passed an internet luring law in 2002, it didn't mean for the Crown to prove an accused intended to follow through with a sex act.

"We are going to have to sit down carefully and see what has to be in a conversation like this for it to be captured by the Criminal Code," Bilodeau said.

Randy Wickins, a detective with the Integrated Child Exploitation team in Edmonton, said "dirty talk" is one of the first steps in luring and should be seen that way in law.

"My fear is that some of them will meet. Doesn't matter whether you are from a poor home or a wealthy home, children can be easily manipulated."

Wickins said the ruling means he'll have to determine whether the cases he is working on meet these guidelines.