Robert Corbin v. State of Indiana, 999 N.E.2d 70

Corbin, a teacher and swimming coach, allegedly engaged in Facebook communications with 16-year-old A.H. in March 2012.
Charging information alleged two counts of attempted child seduction based on non-face-to-face solicitations and future-time requests.
A.H. was a high school student at Knox High School in Starke County, Indiana.
The State charged Count I for asking to sneak out to meet and engage in sexual activity; Count II for asking for a kiss photo and breast size with a future meeting plan.
The trial court denied Corbin’s motion to dismiss; this court granted interlocutory review and affirmed remand to dismiss, reversing on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the alleged acts constitute a substantial step toward child seduction	Corbin	Corbin	Count I insufficient as a matter of law
Whether Count II states a crime or is failure to charge a crime	State	Corbin	Count II fails to allege a criminal act under the statute
Whether the warrants for non-face-to-face, remote solicitation can satisfy Ward test	State	Corbin	Ward test not satisfied for non-face-to-face solicitations
Whether the information properly alleges an offense given the age gap and statutory framework	State	Corbin	Information insufficient; remanded for dismissal
Whether Count II criminalizes conduct that is not within the statute	State	Corbin	Count II not within the scope of child seduction; invalid

Ward v. State, 528 N.E.2d 52 (Ind. 1988) (two-part Ward test for solicitation as an attempt)
Benson v. State, 574 N.E.2d 934 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991) (solicitation and immediate-commission focus)
Shahan v. State, 669 N.E.2d 1012 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996) (solicitation of a family member can support attempt)
Mettler v. State, 697 N.E.2d 502 (Ind. Ct. App. 1998) (letter solicitation insufficient for immediate act)
Collier v. State, 846 N.E.2d 340 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006) (clarifies substantial-step standard in context of attempt)