Attorneys for a 20-year-old Coeur d’Alene man who faces 25 years in prison for allegedly soliciting sex via social media from a 12-year-old say there is little evidence his client sent the messages.

In a motion filed in First District Court, Jay Logsdon, the county’s chief deputy public defender, asked the court to dismiss the charges against Scott C. Marquez because no conclusive evidence was presented at an earlier hearing to show Marquez sent messages to the 12-year-old girl.

Marquez was arrested Oct. 14 and faces a charge of sexual abuse of a child, which can carry a sentence of up to 25 years.

Police said Marquez used the internet to ask a 12-year-old to send him nude pictures, and that Marquez sent the girl nude images of himself.

The child’s mother contacted Spirit Lake police after reading a message on her daughter’s Instagram account asking the girl to meet and have sex.

Investigators uncovered a series of sexual exchanges between a man they believe to be Marquez — formerly of Rathdrum — and the girl, after viewing messages on a cellphone.

A magistrate judge in January found sufficient evidence to bind the case over to district court, but Logsdon argued there was insufficient evidence.

In a motion filed last week, Logsdon argued the court took for granted the Instagram messages used as evidence in the preliminary hearing were sent by Marquez, because they were sent from his account.

“The state bore the burden to show that there was substantial evidence of every element of the crime,” Logsdon wrote. “In this case as in all cases, identity had to be proven.”

Prosecutors relied on the name and picture on the account to conclude Marquez sent the messages, Logsdon said.

To establish an identity of the author of a text message or email, Logsdon said, corroborating evidence is critical to meet the threshold required of admissible evidence.

No corroborating evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing, he said.

“The state failed to provide ‘substantial evidence’ as to the material element required for a preliminary hearing,” Logsdon wrote.

In its investigation, Spirit Lake Police sought the help of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, police said. An ICAC investigator, pretending to be the 12-year-old, contacted Marquez, who replied with an image of his erect penis, according to a police report.

The 12-year-old said she met Marquez when she was 10 and they remained in contact.

Marquez is in the Kootenai County jail on $50,000 bail.