Joshua Robert Smithv.The State
Joshua Smith challenged the indictment charging attempted child enticement and child pornography after an undercover investigation in which officers advertised an encounter with a person represented to be under sixteen. He filed general and special demurrers, arguing that the indictment failed to allege the statutory offenses and did not identify the conduct underlying the child-pornography count. The Court of Appeals held that the attempted-enticement count was sufficiently stated because it alleged intent and a substantial step toward the completed offense. The child-pornography count, however, did not adequately identify the unlawful sexual offense on which the charge depended and therefore failed to give Smith the notice required by due process. The court affirmed in part and reversed in part, reversing the trial court’s denial of the special demurrer to the defective count. The reversal did not bar the State from seeking a legally sufficient reindictment. Two judges concurred.
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