Chen v. State
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
42 S.W.3d 926 (2001)
Relevant factsFree
Bailey Chen (defendant) posted an online ad seeking a nude dancer; a police officer, posing as a fictitious 13-year-old named “Julie Cirello,” responded and exchanged emails with Chen arranging to meet for sex at a hotel. Chen was arrested when he arrived and confessed he planned to have sex with a young girl. Convicted of attempted sexual performance by a child, Chen argued on appeal that because Julie Cirello never actually existed, it was factually impossible for him to have committed the crime.
IssueFree
Whether factual impossibility is a defense to attempted sexual performance by a child when the child is a fictitious person created online.