Citrus Heights Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Lure Minors into Sexual Conduct Online

A 31-year-old man from Citrus Heights pleaded guilty to communicating with minors online and reportedly propositioned at least one teen girl "to engage in online sexual conduct and to take photographs of herself," according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

James Anthony Demotto Jr. could face 10 years up to life in prison. 

From the U.S. Department of Justice:

James Anthony Demotto Jr., 31, of Citrus Heights, pleaded guilty today to one count of attempted enticement of a minor, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. 

According to the plea agreement, in May 2012, Demotto began communicating online with an undercover officer in Massachusetts who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. Within several minutes of chatting online, Demotto propositioned her to engage in online sexual conduct and to take photographs of herself.

By January 2013, Demotto engaged in Internet conversations of a sexual nature with two other undercover agents who were posing as under-aged girls. He repeatedly asked for sexually explicit pictures from the “girls.”

When law enforcement searched Demotto’s computer, they found evidence that he had been communicating with actual minors, and had received sexually explicit pictures from them. There was also evidence that Demotto had been searching for and downloaded images of child pornography from the Internet.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case.

Demotto is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley on December 19, 2013. He could face a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a life term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched to increase federal prosecutions of sexual predators of children, and to reduce the number of Internet crimes against children including child pornography trafficking. As a part of PSC, the United States Attorney’s Office has teamed with state and local agencies and organizations to increase law enforcement presence on the Internet, and to educate the public about safe Internet use, thereby reducing the risk that children might fall prey to online sexual predators. For additional information on the PSC initiative, please go towww.projectsafechildhood.gov.