Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Human Trafficking Conviction

Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Human Trafficking Conviction

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti welcomed the Tennessee Supreme Court's unanimous decision affirming the commercial sex trafficking conviction of Anthony Cornelius Baylis, reinforcing Tennessee's commitment to holding accountable those who seek to exploit minors for commercial sex.

In May 2021, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Human Trafficking Unit conducted a sting operation in Monroe County targeting individuals soliciting sex through online escort advertisements. Baylis responded to an advertisement and texted with an undercover TBI Agent posing as a 16-year-old girl. Baylis arranged a meeting and paid $120 before officers arrested him.

During their communications, Baylis also urged the undercover officer to move to Knoxville, where she could charge higher rates, and offered to act as her "sponsor," proposing that she assist him with "day-to-day operations."

The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected Baylis's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and affirmed his conviction. It held that Tennessee's human trafficking law covers sex trafficking of a person believed to be a minor, even when the intended victim is an undercover law enforcement officer and even without proof of coercion or deception.

"This is a great win for Tennessee and especially for Tennessee kids," said Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. "Our state will absolutely not tolerate child sex trafficking and this decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court ensures we have the tools we need to fight it. I'm grateful to our law enforcement partners and Tennessee's anti-trafficking organizations for their steadfast efforts to stop the sexual exploitation of Tennessee children."

Four Tennessee anti-trafficking organizations, Restore Corps, AncoraTN, Street Grace, and the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking, filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the State, calling these sting operations "among the most effective tools for identifying and prosecuting individuals who seek to exploit children for commercial sex."

Read the opinion here.