Sex offender who raped boy pleads guilty to child exploitation crimes

TACOMA, Wash. – A convicted sex offender who made videos of his rape of a 10-year-old boy pleaded guilty to production, possession and distribution of child pornography, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Caleb Dean Eccles, 32, of Lake Tapps, faces a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence. According to court documents, Eccles uploaded sexually explicit images of his 10-year-old victim to a website known to investigators as a child pornography trading hub. He admits in his plea agreement that he sought to have access to young boys so that he could sexually abuse them and record the sexual abuse using his phone and other electronic devices. Eccles volunteered to baby-sit neighborhood children and altered the spelling of his last name to “Eckoles” to prevent his sex offender registry history from being discovered.

Between October 2013 and March 2014 Eccles uploaded sexually explicit images of a 10-year-old boy. On two different dates in February 2014, Eccles produced videos of his sexual molestation of the young boy.

Eccles was convicted of child was convicted in Florida in 2002 of 63 child pornography offenses and was sentenced 10 years of probation and required to register as a sex offender.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing 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 & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.