A Vina man faces a felony charge after he allegedly sent sexually explicit messages and attempted to meet with a girl under the age of 15.
Jonathan Lowery, 37, was booked into the Franklin County Jail November 19th on charges of Electronic Solicitation of a Child and Possession of Prohibited Liquor. Jail records as of November 25th show Lowery is no longer in the Franklin County Jail.
According to Franklin County Sheriff’s Office investigators, they received a complaint that Lowery was communicating with a child under the age of 15 and was sending ‘sexually inappropriate messages’ according to the FCSO. Additionally, the investigation showed Lowery allegedly took steps to meet the child for illicit purposes, investigators said.
Electronic Solicitation of a Child is defined as follows in Code of Alabama Section 13A-6-122:
“A person who knowingly entices, induces, persuades, seduces, prevails, advises, coerces, lures, or orders, or attempts to entice, induce, persuade, seduce, prevail, advise, coerce, lure, or order, by means of a computer, on-line service, Internet service, Internet bulletin board service, weblog, cellular phone, video game system, personal data assistant, telephone, facsimile machine, camera, universal serial bus drive, writable compact disc, magnetic storage device, floppy disk, or any other electronic communication or storage device, a child who is at least three years younger than the defendant, or another person believed by the defendant to be a child at least three years younger than the defendant to meet with the defendant or any other person for the purpose of engaging in sexual intercourse, sodomy, sexual contact, sexual performance, obscene sexual performance, sexual conduct, or genital mutilation, or directs a child to engage in sexual intercourse, sodomy, sexual contact, sexual performance, obscene sexual performance, sexual conduct, or genital mutilation is guilty of Electronic Solicitation of a Child.”
After a warrant was issued for Lowery’s arrest, he was seen driving and a traffic stop was made. He was arrested for the felony charge and allegedly had alcohol in the passenger area of his vehicle, thus forming the illegal possession charge.
The case is pending in Franklin County District Court. Lowery has the right to request a preliminary hearing, where the State of Alabama must show probable cause that he committed the offense. If such a finding is made, the case will be presented next year to a Franklin County Grand Jury.
Upon conviction, the felony carries a penalty of 2-20 years in prison/
As with all defendants charged with crimes, Lowery is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Commenting on this story has been disabled.
