State Supreme Court upholds Louisa sodomy solicitation conviction

Daily Progress Staff Reports –  2/26/2015

The Supreme Court of Virginia found Thursday that the unconstitutionality of anti­sodomy laws didn’t apply in the case of a Richmond man who was found guilty of soliciting sodomy from a minor.

In 2012, a Louisa County jury found Adam Derrick Toghill guilty of soliciting sodomy from a minor after prosecutors said he proposed oral sex by email to an undercover officer posing as a minor.

Police arrested Adam D. Toghill, 32, in spring 2011 after he attempted to arrange a sexual encounter via Craigslist with someone he thought was a 13­year­old child in Louisa.

Toghill appealed, citing both federal and state cases that found anti­sodomy laws unconstitutional.

The appeals court upheld the circuit court’s decision, and in an opinion released Thursday, state justices also upheld the decision.

“[Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down anti­sodomy laws] expressly carved out the kind of conduct involved here — that involving a juvenile — from its holding,” appellate attorney L. Steven Emmert said in an analysis of the case. “That left states free to continue to regulate sexual conduct with minors, which is exactly what the Virginia statute does.