Human Trafficking Charges Dismissed Against the Couple Whose Case Changed Tennessee Law

District Attorney General Brent Cooper of Tennessee’s 22nd Judicial District has dismissed the human trafficking charges against James and Kelli Hewitt of Giles County, entering a nolle prosequi in State of Tennessee v. James Hewitt and State of Tennessee v. Kelli Hewitt. The dismissal immediately ended the house arrest, ankle monitoring, and restrictive bond conditions the Hewitts had lived under for more than a year. The Hewitts are represented by Litson PLLC.

In a July 20 letter to defense counsel, Cooper wrote that he had elected to exercise his prosecutorial discretion and would not proceed with the cases. The nolle order was entered the following week, dissolving the bond conditions.

The Hewitts were arrested on July 2, 2025. Bond conditions imposed that month cut them off from contact with their children, and the family spent more than a year separated while the case was pending.

The case also changed Tennessee law. When the courts could not resolve the contact issue, Litson attorney Ashley Abraham and Kelley Hess, the firm’s government relations director, carried it to the General Assembly. The result was the Parental Rights Protection Act, sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Andrew Farmer and Senate Judiciary Vice Chairman Paul Rose. The Act requires an expedited hearing within 15 days whenever a bond condition restricts a parent’s contact with a minor child who is not a victim of the charged offense, voids the condition if the hearing is not held in time, and requires the State to prove the restriction is necessary by clear and convincing evidence. It passed the House 92-0 and the Senate 32-0, and Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law on April 16, 2026. It is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-8-103(h) as 2026 Public Chapter 732.

“For more than a year, James and Kelli Hewitt lived under house arrest, wore ankle monitors, and could not see their children,” said Alex Little, managing partner. “The State has now dismissed the trafficking charges that put those conditions in place. We appreciate General Cooper’s careful review of this case.”

“This family’s case changed Tennessee law, and today the charges that started it all are gone,” said Ashley Abraham, the Litson attorney who led the defense. “We will keep working for the Hewitts until every part of this matter is resolved.”

Other charges against the Hewitts remain pending, and the firm will not comment on pending matters.