I believe that you know more than I do about the law but as I stated earlier it depends on the state you are in. You quoted a Texas Penal Code. I have lived in numerous state and not only are the laws different from state to state but also county to county inside that state.
Originally Posted by theotherguy1
You're applying what I said to a situation of where someone actually meets with the person in the picture and had sex or is still pursuant in soliciting sex. I was mentioning cyber crimes which is different as there's no face to face. It looks worse when you actually meet someone underage because the demeanor of that person will come up for discussion in how they play the underage card.
Ignorance only goes so far when actually soliciting sex face to face.
There's been a few cases (not solicitation) where people have actually got away with having sex with someone who stated they were 18 and a few where they didn't. Cody Wilson is one (the dude that made those 3d printed guns). I also think his defense was that the girl stated she was 18 or over and the website they met on was supposed to be for 18 and over people.
I also read that a fake ID is still not a good defense. Which is fucked up. I don't think bars or stores get charged/fined for selling to people with fake IDs. There's really not much sympathy when it comes to sex crimes as you're already in the hot seat for soliciting sex for $.
I also think at age 14 and under there's zero defense that can be made when you're above a certain age. It's also a felony. As I said before, it's best just to stay away. I know I said ask for age (not that this is for saving someone in court, it's more for comfort), but it's best just to not even do that if you're getting the vibe of asking age to begin with.