Ala. appeals court overturns computer conviction

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned the conviction of a man who authorities say tried to solicit a 15-year-old girl online for sexual acts.

The person Randy Lynn Tennyson was communicating with in 2006 was actually a male Demopolis police detective. The appeals court ruled that he shouldn't have been convicted because the detective was not a child.

The Alabama Legislature changed the law in 2009 to require only that suspects believe they are communicating with a child. But the court ruled the old law was in effect when Tennyson was arrested.

Tennyson was sentenced to seven years in prison.

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