Pennsylvania man gets 10 years in prison for online enticement of Cary child

CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Pennsylvania resident was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for online enticement of a Cary minor.

The US Department of Justice announced the sentencing Wednesday. James Julius Caton, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 22.

Authorities said the investigation began after text messages between Caton and a 13-year-old living in Cary were uncovered on the minor's phone. The messages include discussions of Caton traveling from Pennsylvania to North Carolina to have sex with the minor.

Court documents showed that Cary Police began looking into the case after a mother found sexual text messages between Caton and her child.

Investigators analyzed the phone and interviewed the child and learned that Caton first reached out to the child on Omegle, a free, web-based online chat service that allowed users to socialize without the need to register.

According to court records, the conversation moved to Snapchat and Instagram, and later to text messages. Search warrants were obtained for Caton's and the victim's Snapchat and Instagram accounts, where sexually explicit conversations between the two were discovered.

In text messages, Caton encouraged the child to send sexually explicit images and also discussed meeting in person for sex.

Caton was arrested in Pennsylvania. A search of his digital devices found unrelated images and videos of child pornography, the DOJ said.

The Department of Homeland Security helped investigate the case.

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