Kent Lowery Booher, Enticing a Minor, Tennessee 2021

KNOXVILLE, TN – Kent Lowery Booher, 64, a disbarred attorney from Harriman, Tennessee, has been convicted of a horrifying array of sex crimes targeting minors. A federal jury delivered the guilty verdict on April 19, 2021, capping a disturbing investigation that exposed Booher’s predatory behavior. The former defense attorney, already a registered sex offender, now faces a potential life sentence for his depravity.

The case unfolded after an undercover operation revealed Booher engaging in online communication with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. Over five days, Booher utilized Facebook, text messages, and phone calls in a calculated attempt to lure the individual into sexual activity. Law enforcement, acting on the mounting evidence, arrested Booher on March 8, 2019, as he traveled to meet with a minor. The 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and Harriman Police Department made the initial bust, setting the stage for the federal charges to come.

Initially indicted on charges of attempted enticement of a minor and violating sex offender registration requirements, the scope of the investigation broadened. A federal grand jury subsequently added three more counts, connecting Booher to the sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old child between 2012 and 2013. The evidence painted a grim picture of a pattern of abuse, meticulously uncovered by investigators.

Booher was found 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. The sheer volume and severity of the charges demonstrate the calculated and predatory nature of his actions. Sentencing is scheduled for August 18, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan, where Booher will likely learn his fate – a prison term ranging from 25 years to life.

The investigation was spearheaded by the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, with significant assistance from a multi-agency task force. The Knoxville Police Department, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Lenoir City Police Department, Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, Blount County Sheriff’s Department, Tennessee Department of Corrections, and even the U.S. Secret Service all contributed to bringing Booher to justice. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kolman and Frank M. Dale, Jr. successfully prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a national initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The PSC aims to coordinate federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute predators, and to rescue victims. The conviction of Kent Lowery Booher serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing fight to protect vulnerable children from those who would exploit them. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Drug Trafficking

Rodolpho Hernandez Flores, Possessing With Intent to Distribute Heroin, Illinois 2014

Mar 5, 2015

Drug Trafficking

Allen White, Possession with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, West Virginia 2015

Apr 11, 2017

Drug Trafficking

Rolando Reyna, Methamphetamine Possession, Texas 2013

Apr 30, 2015

Drug Trafficking

Andrew Tablack, Fentanyl Trafficking, New Jersey 2021

Jul 14, 2021