North Texas man admits enticing child to engage in deviant sexual relations
Defendant had condoms, cash and diapers in vehicle when arrested
FORT WORTH, Texas – A North Texas man pleaded guilty on Friday before U.S. District Judge John McBryde to one count of enticing a child to engage in sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. The Fort Worth Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating.
Johnathon D. Caudill, 24, of McKinney, Texas, faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for March 2 before Judge McBryde.
According to documents filed in the case, an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, working undercover, posted an advertisement on the miscellaneous romance page on Dallas' Craigslist advertising his girlfriend's two minor daughters. Within 20 minutes of posting the ad, Caudill contacted the officer by emailing a sexually explicit photograph of himself to the officer. The officer informed Caudill that the girls were 11 and 13 years old and sent images of two minor girls to Caudill. Caudill then asked if the girls would engage in sexual intercourse and deviant sexual intercourse, to which the officer responded that they would. Caudill informed the undercover officer that he would use a condom and wanted the girls to wear diapers during the sessions of sexual intercourse and deviant sexual intercourse.
A meeting was arranged and Caudill arrived at the meeting place in north Fort Worth as planned. When he did not receive a timely response from the officer to a text message, Caudill left the parking lot and was arrested shortly thereafter. Condoms, diapers and a $100 bill were located inside his vehicle.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis, Northern District of Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.
ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE and its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.
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