Soliciting a Crime in Georgia: DeKalb County Criminal Solicitation Charges

Criminal solicitation is a serious charge in Georgia. It happens when one person asks, urges, or commands someone else to commit a felony. The felony itself never has to take place. Georgia also treats this charge differently from attempt and conspiracy, and that difference matters. Soliciting a crime can carry real prison time. Prosecutors in DeKalb County pursue these cases hard.

Many people mix up criminal solicitation with pandering. Pandering is the act of asking a person to perform prostitution. Both crimes involve "soliciting." Even so, they are separate offenses under Georgia law. This page covers the criminal solicitation definition, the elements of solicitation the state must prove, real-world examples, the penalties a conviction carries, and the defenses that may apply. Neighboring Cobb County charges the crime of solicitation just as hard. For all of these reasons, a powerful legal defense at every stage matters.

What Is Criminal Solicitation Under Georgia Law?

To define criminal solicitation, start with the statute. Under Georgia law, a person commits criminal solicitation when they solicit, request, command, importune, or otherwise attempt to cause another person to engage in conduct constituting a felony. The person must also act with intent that the other person engage in that felony conduct.

In plain terms, the solicitation crime definition covers any real effort to get someone else to commit a felony. The crime is done the moment the request goes out. The other person need not agree. They need not act. They need not even answer.

That makes solicitation an inchoate offense. Those are crimes that punish steps taken before the target crime happens. Georgia has three of them: criminal attempt, criminal conspiracy, and solicitation. Attempt needs a substantial step toward the crime. Conspiracy needs an agreement plus an overt act by one of the plotters. A solicitation charge needs no step of either kind.

Common law solicitation was defined much the same way. It covered urging or asking another person to commit a crime. Georgia's statute follows that tradition, but it draws one firm line: the offense reaches felonies only. The statute also closes one escape route. It is no defense that the person solicited could not be guilty of the crime solicited. So the charge does not fail merely because the person who was asked would never have carried the felony out.

Georgia law has separate statutes for specific kinds of soliciting as well. The offense of pandering covers asking a person to perform an act of prostitution. It also covers knowingly assembling people at a fixed place to be solicited for prostitution. A separate law makes it a crime to use a computer or wireless service to solicit a child online for a sexual offense. Each of those laws carries its own penalties. None of them should be confused with the general solicitation statute.

Elements of Criminal Solicitation the State Must Prove

To win a conviction, the state must prove three things beyond a reasonable doubt.

The accused solicited, requested, commanded, importuned, or attempted to cause another person to act. The request can take many forms. Spoken words count. So do written notes, emails, texts, and hand signals. What matters is that the person took an active step to urge someone else to commit the crime.

The requested conduct would be a felony if carried out. Georgia's solicitation statute reaches felonies only. Asking someone to commit a misdemeanor does not qualify as criminal solicitation, though other penal laws may still reach that conduct.

The accused acted with specific intent that the other person commit the felony. This is often the most contested element. The state must show the person truly wanted the crime to happen. Joking does not count. Neither does venting or talking in theory. A casual line like "someone should rob that place" may not be enough on its own.

The offense is finished once the request is made. The person asked does not need to agree, reply, or take any step toward the felony.

The solicitation statute sets no special corroboration rule. Under Georgia's evidence rules, the testimony of a single witness is generally enough to prove a fact. There is a narrow exception for felony cases where the only witness is an accomplice. In practice the state still builds these cases on recordings, texts, money transfers, or outside witnesses. How much proof exists beyond one person's account is a frequent focus of the defense.

Solicitation Crime Examples in Georgia

These charges come up in many settings. The solicitation crime examples below show how Georgia prosecutors apply the statute.

Solicitation to commit murder. A person offers money or other payment to have someone killed. The state must show the request was real, not idle anger. These murder-for-hire cases often turn on recordings or on a cooperating witness.

Solicitation to commit arson. A person asks someone to set fire to a building, a vehicle, or other property. It shows up in insurance schemes and in personal disputes. Prosecutors look for a money motive or for earlier threats. An insurance payout motive can also draw a separate charge for fraud in Fulton County, or in whichever metro county the claim was filed.

Solicitation to commit robbery or burglary. A person recruits another to rob a business, break into a home, or steal set items. Texts and social media chats that plan the crime often serve as proof.

Solicitation to distribute drugs. A person asks another to move, sell, or make controlled substances. These counts often ride along with drug trafficking cases. The solicitation count carries its own one-to-three-year range, no matter the amount involved.

Solicitation to intimidate a witness. A person asks another to threaten, bribe, or harm a witness in a pending case. These charges often surface while a case is live and investigators are watching the defendant's messages.

Online solicitation of a minor. Georgia charges this conduct under a separate law, not the general solicitation statute. Using a computer or wireless service to seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child into a sexual offense is a felony. It is punished by one to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to twenty-five thousand dollars. A defendant who was 18 or younger faces a misdemeanor instead when the child was at least 14.

Penalties for Criminal Solicitation and Pandering in Georgia

A person convicted of soliciting a felony faces one to three years in prison. If the crime solicited is punishable by death or life in prison, the range rises to one to five years. Murder is the clearest example. That range is flat. It does not scale with the punishment set for the felony that was requested.

Pandering works differently, and the result depends on the facts. A first offense is punished as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. At the judge's sole discretion, all but 72 hours of any jail term imposed may be suspended, stayed, or probated. A second or later offense is a felony. It carries one to ten years in prison.

Penalties rise sharply when a pandering offense involves the conduct of a person under 18. It becomes a felony carrying ten to 30 years in prison. The fine can reach one hundred thousand dollars. A second or later conviction under that provision may not be suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld.

Location adds another penalty. A pandering offense committed within one thousand feet of a school building, school grounds, a public place of worship, or a playground or recreation center used primarily by children under 17 carries a mandatory fine of twenty-five hundred dollars.

A pandering conviction also brings a public notice. The clerk of court must publish it in the legal organ of the county where the person lives. For a nonresident, it runs in the county where the case was tried. The notice carries the arrest photograph, the name and address of the convicted person, and the date, time, place of arrest and disposition of the case. The convicted person is assessed the cost of printing it. A motor vehicle used to facilitate a pandering offense is also declared contraband and subject to forfeiture. Cherokee County courts apply the same solicitation law to pandering cases filed there.

Solicitation Sting Operations in DeKalb County

Many solicitation cases in DeKalb County start with a sting. Officers pose as willing partners, or as minors, on messaging apps, social media, and classified websites. Investigators watch those sites for solicitation activity. The request itself often happens by text or online chat. When the target arrives at a set location, officers make the arrest.

These operations raise real legal issues. Entrapment is a statutory defense in Georgia. It exists when the idea and intention for the crime originated with a government officer or an officer's agent. That officer must then have used undue persuasion, incitement, or deceitful means to induce conduct the accused would not otherwise have committed. That definition sets real limits. If the proof shows the idea came from the accused, the defense gets much harder. That includes cases where the accused opened the chat or made repeated requests.

Digital proof is central in sting cases. Full message threads, metadata, IP address records, and device logs can support or undercut the state's case. Saving that proof early is critical. Deleted messages may still be recovered. Timestamps can show who made contact first and how the chat moved along.

Evidence quality is the real battleground here. The solicitation statute sets no corroboration rule, and Georgia's evidence rules call for a second witness only in narrow situations, such as a felony case resting solely on an accomplice's testimony. That puts the recorded messages at the center of the case. A defense attorney may test whether the recordings are complete, whether they were obtained properly, and whether the words prove real intent.

Common Defenses to Criminal Solicitation Charges

Several defenses may apply, and the right one depends on the facts.

Lack of specific intent. The state must prove the accused truly meant for the other person to commit the felony. Words said in anger, in frustration, or as dark humor may fall short. There has to be a real plan or some follow-through. Context matters, and a skilled defense lawyer will dig into the facts around the request.

Abandoning the plan. Georgia's Code gives a defendant who voluntarily and completely renounces a criminal purpose an affirmative defense to criminal attempt. The solicitation statute carries no matching provision. That offense is finished once the request is made. Backing out later can still shape how a prosecutor charges the case and what a judge does at sentencing.

Thin proof of the request. The state has to prove what was actually said, and that the accused meant it. Some cases rest on one person's memory alone. There may be no recording, no message, no payment, and no outside witness. A defense lawyer can then attack whether the state can prove a real request beyond a reasonable doubt.

Entrapment. Sometimes police start the criminal plan and press a person who was not ready to commit the crime. Entrapment may then serve as a complete defense. It matters most in online stings, where officers may have opened contact and steered the chat toward criminal conduct.

Mistaken identity. Many of these cases run on texts, emails, or online accounts. The state must prove the accused sent the messages. Shared devices, spoofed accounts, or hacked profiles can raise reasonable doubt about who made the request.

Every case is different. The strength of any defense rests on the facts. Anyone facing these charges should talk with a criminal defense attorney about which defenses may fit.

Speak With a DeKalb County Criminal Solicitation Defense Lawyer

Criminal solicitation charges in Georgia carry one to three years in prison. The range is one to five years when the crime solicited is punishable by death or life in prison. A conviction could mean years behind bars, and the effects follow a person long after the sentence ends. Acting early lets a defense attorney test intent, probe the state's proof, and raise entrapment or other defenses before charges are formalized.

If you or someone you know faces criminal solicitation charges in DeKalb County, contact Kohn & Yager LLC to schedule a free, confidential consultation. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Soliciting in Law in Georgia?

Soliciting means asking, urging, or commanding another person to commit a crime. Georgia's general solicitation statute reaches felonies only. The request must be paired with intent that the other person carry the felony out. The offense is complete once the request is made. The other person does not need to agree or act.

What Are the Elements of Criminal Solicitation in Georgia?

The state must prove three things. First, the accused made a request for another person to act. Second, the requested conduct would be a felony. Third, the accused had specific intent for the felony to be committed. The state does not have to show that the felony was ever carried out.

Can You Be Convicted of Solicitation if the Crime Never Happened?

Yes. Solicitation is an inchoate offense, so the underlying crime does not need to occur. The charge is complete the moment the request is made with the required intent. The person asked does not need to agree or take any step toward the felony.

What Is the Penalty for Criminal Solicitation in Georgia?

Soliciting a felony is punishable by one to three years in prison. If the crime solicited is punishable by death or life in prison, the range rises to one to five years. That range is flat and does not track the penalty for the felony requested. Pandering and solicitation of minors carry separate penalties, which are often more severe.

Is Criminal Solicitation the Same as Pandering in Georgia?

No. Criminal solicitation is a general inchoate offense that reaches the soliciting of any felony. Pandering is a specific offense. It covers asking a person to perform an act of prostitution, or assembling people at a fixed place to be solicited for prostitution. They are separate crimes with different elements and different penalties.