Hire a Lawyer for Your Solicitation of Minor Charges

U.S. federal law severely punishes sexual abuse with lengthy prison sentences and hefty fines. Our society takes sexual crimes seriously, — especially those involving minors. If you have been charged with solicitation of a minor child for sexual activity, you could be facing a serious prison stay.

The key to handling child solicitation charges is a great criminal defense lawyer on your side who can mitigate the sentence as much as possible.

If you need expert legal defense, call the Zoukis Consulting Group. Our lawyers will defend you against your child solicitation charges. If you are headed to prison, we will review your case and help you understand everything to expect about federal prison and prison life.

How Solicitation of a Minor Becomes a Federal Crime

Solicitation of a minor child is under regulation by the U.S. Criminal Code, Title 18, Chapter 117. While prosecution for this crime can occur either at the state or federal level, offenses become federal if certain conditions are met.

Sex abuse — and particularly solicitation of a child for sexual activity — falls under the federal umbrella if it occurs in the federal jurisdiction of the United States. Federal sex crimes include a range of illegal activities under federal law, with these crimes viewed more severely than state sex crimes. For example, sex crimes involving children immediately get bumped up to the federal level.

Solicitation of a Minor Child

18 U.S.C 2422 defines solicitation of a minor child as any activity that involves knowingly persuading, coercing, enticing, or inducing a minor to travel between states to engage in illegal sexual acts, including but not limited to prostitution. Solicitation is essentially an attempt to get someone to do something illegal.

Solicitation for child sexual activity also includes using facilities, like mail and the internet, to knowingly persuade, coerce, entice, or induce a minor or attempt to engage in illegal sexual activity. Any means of interstate or international commerce will count as a facility, which is why texting is included. Solicitation also encompasses transportation or using facilities to share or transmit personal details of a minor to entice, encourage, or solicit others to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Illegal Sexual Activity and Conduct 

It is illegal to engage in sexual activity and conduct with minors. This illegality is not limited to actual sexual contact and/or penetration. Two other categories also include illegal sexual conduct. Illegal child sexual activity is defined as:

  • Sexual act with any person under 18 years of age violates Chapter 109A, a criminal code that prohibits sexual acts in special maritime and territorial jurisdictions of the U.S.
  • Sex act involving a person under 18 years of age for commercial activity (i.e., buying or selling of sexual activity for money or other goods)
  • Any production or depiction of child pornography (includes photos, film, videos, pictures, etc.) that can be produced by manual, digital, or other means. This includes sexting, or sexually explicit texting.

So, solicitation of a minor child is essentially attempting to persuade or coerce a minor into one of these acts. Merely enticing a minor is enough. Since this is a federal crime, the federal definition of a minor applies. This means the age of consent in your state is invalid, and any person under the age of 18 is a minor under the U.S. Criminal Code.

Punishment for Solicitation of a Minor 

Federal sex crimes have severe sentencing guidelines. If a court finds that you knowingly persuaded a minor to travel to elicit sexual activity, you could face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum life sentence.

In the case of repeat offenders, the sentence will be more severe. The severity of the punishment will also include the child’s age, considering if they were extremely young, such as under 12 or 14 years old.

Additionally, a conviction for this crime will include a mandatory registration on the national sex registry. All sex offenders in every state are on this registry. Your listing will remain for a pre-determined time frame based on conviction and could be anywhere from 15 years to life. This can severely impact your ability to find employment or a residence.

Contact a Solicitation of a Minor Defense Lawyer Today

You can hire a lawyer from the Zoukis Consulting Group if you are facing charges of soliciting a minor for sexual activity or any form of federal sex abuse.

The right criminal defense attorney can help mitigate your sentence and have someone in your corner in the courtroom. Our prison consultants can also assist in preparing you for federal prison and how to get through it. Our company leader provides first-hand knowledge on life in prison, so you know what to expect.

If you need expert legal defense from a lawyer who can defend you against your child solicitation charges, call the Zoukis Consulting Group today.