Former defense attorney convicted of multiple sex crimes involving children
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A disbarred criminal defense attorney was found guilty of multiple sex crimes involving minors after a multi-day jury trial in federal court.
The announcement was made on April 19 by the acting U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Tennessee.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) worked with numerous federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to conduct this investigation.
“HSI Nashville will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate sexual predators who use the Internet to prey on innocent children,” said Jerry C Templet, Jr, special agent in charge, HSI Nashville.
An undercover investigation of Kent Lowery Booher, 64, of Harriman, Tennessee, a convicted sex offender, revealed that he began communicating on Facebook with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Over a period of five days, he used Facebook, text messaging, and telephone calls to attempt to entice the individual to engage in sexual activity. In March 2019, Booher was arrested by local law enforcement while on the way to meet with a minor child.
A grand jury initially indicted Booher on charges of attempted enticement of a minor for sex and committing the enticement offense while required to register as a sex offender. Two months later, the grand jury added three charges relating to his sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old child in 2012 and 2013.
A jury found Booher guilty of enticing and attempting the enticement of a minor for sex, committing a sex crime with a minor while being a registered sex offender, sex trafficking of a child, and attempted production of child pornography.
Booher faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on August 18, 2021.
HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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