One of the topics that have already been learned is dedicated to the concepts of attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation. The present paper focuses on the act of solicitation that could be defined as an act of asking another person to commit an illegal action. This concept is illustrated in the example of Chris D’Elia, a famous stand-up comedian, who was accused in early March 2021 of soliciting pornography from a 17-years-old girl, Chloe Neely.
Wurtele and Kenny (2016) write that social media have become a popular instrument used for the solicitation of youth by adults. Besides, approximately 9 percent of youth suffer from solicitation of pornography (Wurtele & Kenny, 2016). In D’Elia’s case, the comedian used direct messages on Instagram to talk to the victim (Trepany, 2021). During the period from 2014 to 2019, the underaged plaintiff sent Mr. D’Elia “100 sexually explicit photos and videos” (Trepany, 2021, para. 8). The girl was flattered by the attention of the celebrity and, thus, it was easy to manipulate her.
Chris D’Elia was accused of solicitation because it is illegal for underaged people to participate in pornography. And even though D’Elia did not make these shoots personally, he manipulated the plaintiff to make her send him photos and videos. Therefore, he forced another person to break the law that recognizes child pornography as illegal. By the way, in addition to the solicitation, Mr. D’Elia was charged with the sexual exploitation of teenaged girls (Trepany, 2021). Interestingly enough, it took several years for Chloe Neely to gain the strength to declare what happened between her and Chris D’Elia. However, in spite of the existing evidence, Mr. D’Elia denies the allegations.
References
Trepany, C. (2021). Chris D’Elia accused of sexually exploiting and soliciting pornography from teen in lawsuit. USA Today. Web.
Wurtele, S. K., & Kenny, M. C. (2016). Technology‐related sexual solicitation of adolescents: A review of prevention efforts. Child Abuse Review, 25(5), 332-344.