A Nashville judge has overturned the conviction and 22-year prison sentence for a man whose case was championed by prosecutors as the first under the state’s current sex trafficking law, reports The Tennessean.
Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn says in a court order that the evidence did not support a conviction under the current language of the state’s new sex trafficking law. His ruling is being appealed, and already legislators are looking at making changes to the law.
A jury found Michael Kohlmeyer guilty of trafficking for a commercial sex act in 2014 after hearing testimony that he talked with an undercover detective about buying young girls. Victims’ advocates and prosecutors cheered the case as the first successful prosecution of a customer of sex trafficking in the state.
“This is a learning curve. It’s a new law. We haven’t got precedent for it,” said Derri Smith, founder of End Slavery Tennessee, which works to stop human trafficking. “I think some mistakes were made. Hopefully we will learn for the next round.”
Smith attended Kohlmeyer’s sentencing in April. She declined to comment on the mistakes in the case.
“It is so important that we send a strong message to the community that we will not tolerate people buying our children,” she told The Tennessean. “I think it’s important we learn and revisit this and don’t let this law get buried.”
… Kohlmeyer remains in custody on charges pending in Gibson County.
…A bill sponsored by state Rep. Jim Coley, R-Bartlett, (HB1693) would add wording to the law that says it is not a defense that the victim was an undercover police officer. Coley filed the bill Thursday.