United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

MCKINNEY, TEXAS MAN DETAINED PENDING TRIAL FOR ATTEMPTING
TO ENTICE A MINOR CHILD TO ENGAGE IN DEVIATE SEXUAL RELATIONS

Defendant Had Condoms, Cash and Diapers in Vehicle When Arrested

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal grand jury has indicted Johnathon D. Caudill, 24, of McKinney, Texas for attempting to entice a child to engage in sexual activity, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. If convicted, Caudill faces a statutory sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. His trial is set for November 21, 2011, before U.S. District Judge John McBryde.

According to testimony presented at Caudill’s detention hearing on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton, an officer with the Fort Worth Police Department, working undercover, posted an ad online advertising his girlfriend’s two young daughters. Within 15 minutes of posting the ad, Caudill contacted the officer. The officer informed Caudill that the girls were ages 11 and 13 and sent images of the girls to Caudill. Caudill asked if they would engage in sexual intercourse and deviate sexual intercourse and asked the officer if the girls would wear diapers. The defendant also sent a sexually explicit photo of himself to the officer.

A meeting was arranged and Caudill arrived at the meeting place in Fort Worth as planned on September 20, 2011. When he did not receive a timely response to a text message, Caudill left the parking lot and was arrested shortly thereafter. He had condoms, a $100 bill and diapers in his vehicle. Judge Cureton found that Caudill was not only a flight risk but a danger to the community, and ordered him detained pending trial.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

The Fort Worth Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis is in charge of the prosecution.

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