Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (2026)
Offense of solicitation of a minor
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) It is an offense for a person eighteen (18) 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 (18) 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 (18) years of age, to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the soliciting adult of one (1) or more of the following offenses:
- (1) Rape of a child, pursuant to § 39-13-522;
- (2) Aggravated rape, pursuant to § 39-13-502;
- (3) Rape, pursuant to § 39-13-503;
- (4) Aggravated sexual battery, pursuant to § 39-13-504;
- (5) Sexual battery by an authority figure, pursuant to § 39-13-527;
- (6) Sexual battery, pursuant to § 39-13-505;
- (7) Statutory rape, pursuant to § 39-13-506;
- (8) Especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, pursuant to § 39-17-1005;
- (9) Sexual activity involving a minor, pursuant to § 39-13-529;
- (10) Trafficking for commercial sex acts, pursuant to § 39-13-309;
- (11) Patronizing prostitution, pursuant to § 39-13-514;
- (12) Promoting prostitution, pursuant to § 39-13-515; or
- (13) Aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, pursuant to § 39-17-1004.
- (b) It is no defense that the solicitation was unsuccessful, that the conduct solicited was not engaged in, or that the law enforcement officer could not engage in the solicited offense. It is no defense that the minor solicited was unaware of the criminal nature of the conduct solicited.
- (c) A violation of this section shall constitute an offense one (1) classification lower than the most serious crime solicited, unless the offense solicited was a Class E felony, in which case the offense shall be a Class A misdemeanor.
- (d) A person is subject to prosecution in this state under this section for any conduct that originates in this state, or for any conduct that originates by a person located outside this state, where the person solicited the conduct of a minor located in this state, or solicited a law enforcement officer posing as a minor located within this state.
Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 436,s 1, eff. 7/1/2013.
Acts 1998, ch. 1007, § 1; 2000, ch. 944, § 1; 2005, ch. 496, § 5.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36
cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. Westley A. Albright, 564 S.W.3d 809 (Tenn. 2018).
State of Tennessee v. Westley A. Albright, 564 S.W.3d 809 (Tenn. 2018). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (a) (2014). 2 Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-313(a)(1)(A) (2014), a trial court “may defer further proceedings against a qualified defendant and place the defendant on probation upon such reasonable conditions as it may require…”
State v. Johnson, 970 S.W.2d 500 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1996). “The court also ordered that the appellant serve the entire sentence, undiminished by any sentence reduction credits, as á multiple rapist, pursuant to Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (1994 Supp.). 1 The appellant now appeals both his conviction and sentence, challenging: (1) the…”
State v. Dominy, 6 S.W.3d 472 (Tenn. 1999). “Therefore, the defendant in this case, indicted for aggravated rape, under the rule announced in Trusty would be conclusively presumed to be on constitutional notice that he was being tried for, and could be convicted of, any of the sexual offenses contained in Title 39, Part 5…”
Calvert v. State, 342 S.W.3d 477 (Tenn. 2011). “§ 39-13-528 (2006); and two counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery, id.”
State v. Faruqi, 344 S.W.3d 193 (Mo. 2011). “*202 Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (2010 replacement).”
Backpage.Com, LLC v. Cooper, 939 F. Supp. 2d 805 (M.D. Tenn. 2013). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (d) (West 2012); § 39-13-529(d) (West 2012).”
State v. Fowler, 3 S.W.3d 910 (Tenn. 1999). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (Supp.l998)(effective July 1, 1998).”
State of Tennessee v. Russell Matthew Morgan (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025). “] See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (a)(7). Section -528(a)(7) thus expressly identifies “Statutory rape, pursuant to § 39-13-506” as an enumerated offense.”
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Wade Rosson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “However, the elements of section 39-13-528(a) do not embrace any temporal requirement; there is no discrete period of time too brief to permit an individual to commit an unlawful solicitation so long as the individual’s conduct satisfies all of the requisite statutory elements.”
State of Tennessee v. Ivan Ashley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2023). “hire, persuade, invite or attempt to induce a law enforcement officer posing as a minor, and who IVAN ASHLEY reasonably believed to be less than eighteen (18) years of age, to engage in conduct that, if completed, would have constituted the offense of Patronizing Prostitution…”
State of Tennessee v. Gary Ray Weldon (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “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 (18) years of age . . . to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the…”
State of Tennessee v. Denny Merrill Phillips (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “OPINION On August 27, 2009, the defendant was indicted on a single count of solicitation to commit rape in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-528. He was tried by jury on January 13, 2010.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(a) — 5 cases
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Wade Rosson (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “However, the elements of section 39-13-528(a) do not embrace any temporal requirement; there is no discrete period of time too brief to permit an individual to commit an unlawful solicitation so long as the individual’s conduct satisfies all of the requisite statutory elements.”
State of Tennessee v. Gary Ray Weldon (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “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 (18) years of age . . . to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the…”
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Brandon Tate (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013).
State of Tennessee v. Jon Logsdon (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012).
State of Tennessee v. Marcus Smartt (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(a)(11) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Ivan Ashley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2023). “hire, persuade, invite or attempt to induce a law enforcement officer posing as a minor, and who IVAN ASHLEY reasonably believed to be less than eighteen (18) years of age, to engage in conduct that, if completed, would have constituted the offense of Patronizing Prostitution…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(a)(3) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Denny Merrill Phillips (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “OPINION On August 27, 2009, the defendant was indicted on a single count of solicitation to commit rape in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-528. He was tried by jury on January 13, 2010.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(a)(7) — 3 cases
State of Tennessee v. Clyde E. Willis (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025).
State of Tennessee v. Gary Ray Weldon (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “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 (18) years of age . . . to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the…”
State of Tennessee v. Russell Matthew Morgan (Tenn. Crim. App. 2025). “] See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528 (a)(7). Section -528(a)(7) thus expressly identifies “Statutory rape, pursuant to § 39-13-506” as an enumerated offense.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(a)(9) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Bragg Lampkin (Tenn. Crim. App. 2020).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(b) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Gary Ray Weldon (Tenn. Crim. App. 2018). “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 (18) years of age . . . to engage in conduct that, if completed, would constitute a violation by the…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-528(c) — 2 cases
State of Tennessee v. Bragg Lampkin (Tenn. Crim. App. 2020).
State of Tennessee v. Denny Merrill Phillips (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012). “OPINION On August 27, 2009, the defendant was indicted on a single count of solicitation to commit rape in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-528. He was tried by jury on January 13, 2010.”
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