Buckeye, Arizona – a Buckeye High School principal accused of soliciting children online No charges will be filed by the Maricopa County Prosecutor's Office.

On Sept. 9, the Buckeye School Board unanimously voted to move forward with the firing of Buckeye Union High School Principal Joseph Kinney, who was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 3.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office also announced on September 9 that it would not proceed with charges against Kinney due to the lack of a chance of conviction.

“The offense of solicitation requires proof that the suspect knew or should have known that the person he was communicating with was a minor (under the age of 18),” the MCAO said. “In this case, there was in fact no minor present and the person communicating with was an undercover police officer.”

The MCAO goes into further detail about how undercover investigations can lead to convictions, which did not happen in this case.

“An enticing charge can exist when a suspect is communicating with an undercover officer, but there must be proof that he believed he was communicating with a minor. Belief or intent is often proven by other actions or statements. Based on the evidence available in this case, the state cannot prove that the suspect intended to solicit a minor for sexual exploitation,” the office said.

According to the MCAO, the undercover agent sent Kinney images that showed she was under 18, but that was not enough to prove that she was in fact under 18.

“To prove intent, the prosecution needs evidence that the suspect intended to engage in sexual activity with a minor. There was no such evidence in this case. The undercover officer and the suspect were not in the same state, and investigative procedures typically used to prove this intent in court were not taken in this case,” the MCAO said.

FOX 10 reached out to the FBI to ask if they are continuing their investigation into Kinney. We have not yet heard back.