## Facts

- A Georgia sheriff’s office ran an undercover sting by placing a Craigslist ad posing as a 15-year-old girl.
- Richard Allen Reid responded to the ad, and an investigator (posing as the child) told Reid she was underage.
- Reid continued communicating through Craigslist and text messages after learning the purported child’s age.
- Reid repeatedly solicited photographs, frequently requesting nude images, and made sexually explicit comments to the supposed child.
- Reid expressed concern about getting caught and asked the child to delete their conversation history.
- Reid and the investigator agreed to meet at a gas station at a specific time.
- Reid requested additional nude photos as proof the child was serious about meeting and confirmed they would meet alone.
- Reid confirmed a plan to go to the child’s home after meeting at the gas station.
- Investigators surveilled the gas station; Reid arrived and sat in his vehicle for a few minutes, then attempted to leave.
- An investigator stopped Reid, confirmed his identity, and questioned him.
- Reid first claimed he was just driving around, then admitted he intended to meet an underage female; he did not explain why he left the gas station.
- After a bench trial, Reid was convicted of criminal attempt to commit child molestation and two counts of computer pornography.
- On appeal, Reid challenged the sufficiency of the evidence for the attempted child molestation conviction and argued, alternatively, that he abandoned any attempt.

## Issues

1. Whether the evidence was sufficient under *Jackson v. Virginia* to support Reid’s conviction for criminal attempt to commit child molestation based on explicit communications, arranging a meeting with a person he believed was 15, and arriving at the meeting location.
2. Whether Reid’s departure from the gas station established abandonment/renunciation of the attempt as a matter of law.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals of Georgia affirmed Reid’s conviction for criminal attempt to commit child molestation.
- The court held that a rational factfinder could find intent and a substantial step beyond mere preparation based on Reid’s explicit messages, requests for nude photos, detailed meeting arrangements, and his arrival at the agreed location.
- The court rejected Reid’s abandonment argument because leaving the gas station did not compel a finding of a voluntary and complete renunciation of criminal purpose.

## Legal Principles

- A criminal attempt requires proof of intent to commit the underlying offense and an overt act constituting a substantial step toward its commission.
- On appellate review for sufficiency of the evidence, courts apply the *Jackson v. Virginia* standard, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and deferring to the factfinder’s credibility determinations and reasonable inferences.
- In sting operations, attempt liability is not defeated simply because the “child” is an undercover officer rather than an actual minor; the defendant’s belief and conduct may satisfy the attempt elements.
- Abandonment/renunciation is an affirmative defense only if the defendant voluntarily and completely renounces the criminal purpose; conduct consistent with fear of detection or unexplained retreat does not require a finding of abandonment.

## Conclusion

The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed Reid’s conviction for criminal attempt to commit child molestation because the evidence allowed the trial judge to find that Reid intended to engage in sexual conduct with a 15-year-old and took substantial steps toward that goal by pursuing explicit communications, arranging a specific meetup, traveling to the gas station, and admitting his intent when stopped; his decision to leave the location did not, on this record, establish voluntary and complete renunciation as a matter of law.


Reid v. State, 825 S.E.2d 555 (2019)