American faces sex tourism trial

THE TRIAL in Costa Rica of a  US citizen for on-line sex trafficking began on Monday August 22 but has been adjourned to September 9.

Florida expat  David Strecker 66, , aka “Cuba Dave,” has been in preventive detention for 12 months and could  get  12 more years jail time  if convicted on three counts of violating Costa Rica’s Human Trafficking Law.

Strecker is most widely known as Cuba Dave, which became a brand name used for a chain of websites and social media pages detailing  his  sexual adventures in Costa Rica and other Latin American countries reports the Tico Times

The prosecution alleges  that Strecker used the websites to illegally promote sex tourism and advertise the country to North American tourists as a place where legal prostitution is easy to find.

Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica [and Pnama] but promoting sex tourism is not.

Costa Rica’s  2013 Human Trafficking Law prohibits anyone from using a medium, like a website or blog, “to promote the country at the national and international level as a tourist destination accessible for the exploitation of sexual commerce or for the prostitution of persons of any sex or age.”

Strecker faces  charges of allegedly violating the law  One charge each was filed for a Cuba Dave Facebook page, the CubaDave.com website, and a YouTube video posted to the sex tourism forum Ticaland.com.