What is solicitation of a minor?

The offense targets the communication itself. No meeting is required, and no physical contact.

As with traveling charges, the person on the other end need not actually be a minor. Where a defendant believed they were communicating with one, that belief generally supports the charge.

Each qualifying communication can be charged separately, which is how a single conversation produces multiple counts and how exposure escalates so quickly.

Where these cases are examined: the completeness and authenticity of the chat logs, whether the conversation was preserved in full or selectively, who had access to the account and device, whether the content actually meets the statutory definition of solicitation as opposed to inappropriate but non-qualifying conversation, and how the investigation was conducted.

Device forensics matters enormously — attribution of a communication to a specific person, rather than to an account or a household, is frequently the contested question.