Former DCS employee pleads guilty to solicitation of a minor for aggravated statutory rape

JACKSON, Tenn. — On August 26, 2024, Judge Joseph Howell sentenced Christopher Kenn Baker to two years without parole to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction after pleading guilty to Solicitation of a Minor for Aggravated Statutory Rape.

Christopher Baker

In addition to receiving the maximum sentence allowed by law in Tennessee for this offense, Baker was also ordered to comply with the requirements of the Sex Offender Registry. Baker was an employee of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services at the time of the incident giving rise to the prosecution. 

The case began on March 2, 2023, when the defendant Baker left a note on the car windshield of a 16–year–old female at Walmart in Bolivar, Tennessee. In the note, the defendant propositioned the underaged female. The note was turned over to the Bolivar Police Department, who in turn contacted Sergeant Aubrey Richardson of the Jackson Police Department.

Sergeant Richardson, a member of the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force, then posed as the 16-year–old female to carry on a conversation via text messages with the defendant. Ultimately, on March 7, 2023, the defendant arranged to meet at Malesus Park with the intention of having sex with the person he believed to be the 16–year–old female. When the defendant arrived, he was arrested by the Jackson Police Department.

After further investigation, a Madison County grand jury indicted the defendant on August 28, 2023, on charges of Solicitation of a Minor for Aggravated Statutory Rape.

District Attorney General Jody Pickens stated, “This case should serve as a deterrent to adults who solicit minors for sex. The person they are talking with online could be a law enforcement officer working to investigate those individuals who prey upon our young people. We will vigorously prosecute any case involving a minor victim of sex offenses, especially if the defendant charged, is one entrusted with the protection of children. I am very proud of the work that Assistant District Attorney General Lee R. Sparks and Sergeant Aubrey Richardson did in this case. Working together they were able to expose someone who should have been protecting children instead of preying upon them.” 

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