Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Tennessee criminal defense lawyers know that solicitation of a minor, especially when the solicitation is online, is heavily investigated and targeted both by federal and state law enforcement agencies. Men typically instigate the inappropriate contact with another, although females are certainly subject to prosecution.

Under Tennessee law, the contacted person may be either real or a decoy. The word solicitation is synonymous with the word ask, so the offense is committed whether or not the solicited act is followed through or not. In other words, it is no defense that the solicitation was unsuccessful or that the conduct solicited was not engaged in. Liability lies when the question is asked with the appropriate level of intent.

According to Tennessee law, it is an offense for a person eighteen years of age or older, by means of oral, written or electronic communication, electronic mail or Internet services, directly or through another, to intentionally command, request, hire, persuade, invite or attempt to induce a person whom the person making the solicitation knows, or should know, is less than eighteen years of age, or solicits a law enforcement officer posing as a minor, and whom the person making the solicitation reasonably believes to be less than eighteen years of age, to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute:

(1) Rape of a child;

(2) Aggravated rape;

(3) Rape;

(4) Aggravated sexual battery;

(5) Sexual battery by an authority figure;

(6) Sexual battery;

(7) Statutory rape;

(8) Especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor; or

(9) Sexual activity involving a minor. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (2007).

The punishment for solicitation of a minor depends upon the classification of the crime solicited. Solicitation of a minor constitutes an offense one classification lower than the most serious crime solicited. If you have been accused of solicitation of a minor in Tennessee, contact a sex offense attorney. Your first meeting to discuss your options is free. Our sex offense lawyers handle sex offense cases across East Tennessee including Knoxville, Johnson City, Loudon, Alcoa, Maryville, Chattanooga, Sevierville, Morristown, and Newport.