Definition of Online Solicitation of a Minor
In a popular news segment on Dateline, To Catch a Predator, many of the acting individuals filmed are charged with on-line solicitation of a minor for sexual purposes. In Texas you can be charged with this felony without even leaving the house. It has resulted in many, many arrests.
According to Dateline’s outsourced chat room decoys, 325 have been convicted of some level of this charge since June 2004. Get the facts of this serious charge below.
What is Online Solicitation of a Minor?
On-line solicitation of a minor for a sexual purpose, that is, with intent to commit a sexual activity with that minor, is one of the most investigated and targeted activities by both federal and state law enforcement in this day and age. The “on-line solicitation” as it is known as, is usually in the form of contact by electronic mail (e-mail), instant messaging, or other use of the Internet.
The contact with a minor (underage person), often a male contacting an underage female, becomes a violation of state and federal law when the conversation turns to content of a sexual nature to the extent that it appears that the contacting person is communicating in a sexually explicit manner with the contacted person.
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