Summary disbarment for having sex with a minor

A former associate for a high-powered Silicon Valley law firm was summarily disbarred after he admitted having sex with a minor. JASON BORREVIK [#191083], 33, of Sunnyvale lost his license Nov. 3, 2005, after he pleaded no contest to three felonies — unlawful sex with a minor and two counts of distributing harmful matter via the Internet to minors with the intent to seduce. Summary disbarment is granted when an attorney is convicted of a felony that involves moral turpitude. Borrevik was placed on interim suspension Dec. 17, 2004.

A one-time associate with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Borrevik was arrested in August 2004 in a sting operation in which a Palo Alto police officer posed as the victim’s 17-year-old friend. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Borrevik paid a 16-year-old girl for sex after meeting her on the Internet. He also solicited her underage friend, e-mailing lurid photos to her. The friend declined his offers and reported him to police.

In a letter that was part of his probation report, Borrevik wrote, “My actions relating to these charges were hurtful and irresponsible, and I deeply regret them.” He said he was receiving sexual counseling, had $20,000 in legal expenses and was unable to find a new job.

He told authorities that he started visiting chat rooms as a diversion while working long hours at his law firm, where he was a senior associate in the employee benefits and compensation group and specialized in the design of equity incentive plans and executive employment agreements. He suggested that stress associated with his job and his wife’s pregnancy may have prompted his actions, although he acknowledged those factors did not excuse his behavior.

Borrevik told police he met the victim online and had sex with her six or seven times in her home and at a Palo Alto hotel. The girl told authorities they had sex three times and that Borrevik paid her $140 to $200 each time.

A Palo Alto police officer posed as a 17-year-old in a chat room, although Borrevik said he believed the girl was a junior college student and that the payments helped her pay for school expenses.

Prosecutors said he tried to persuade the victim’s friend to meet for sex by offering her money and e-mailing her explicit photographs.

“I feel I lost my moral compass,” a remorseful Borrevik said in statements to probation officers that were made public after he was sentenced. “I feel sick inside knowing I possibly helped corrupt this girl . . . The incident will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

In a letter to the court, he wrote, “Since my arrest, I have taken complete responsibility for my actions. I don’t want to cause the victims in this case any pain or embarrassment.”

Borrevik was sentenced to four months in the county jail. He could have been sentenced to more than four years in state prison. In addition to the four months in jail, he was ordered by Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Andrea Bryan to serve three years of probation, register as a sex offender and avoid volunteer activities involving children under 18.