Texarkana Man Pleads Guilty To Sharing Images Of Himself Molesting Young
Child
TEXARKANA, Texas–A Texarkana man who distributed images of himself
molesting a child under the age of 12 pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal
charge of production of child pornography.
Caleb Layne Crawford, 26, initially faced state charges related to child
pornography in Bowie County. He was later charged in the Texarkana Division
of the Eastern District of Texas in a five-count indictment accusing him of
sexually exploiting a child under the age of 12 to produce images of child
sexual abuse from Dec. 9, 2024, to Dec. 16, 2024, and that he distributed
images on Dec. 11, 2024.
Crawford had access to a 5-year-old relative and three other young children
of similar ages whose mother Crawford had been dating, according to a
probable cause affidavit filed last year in Bowie County. Those children
are of similar age to the child depicted in the “homemade” abuse material,
the affidavit said.
Investigators with the Texarkana Texas Police Dept. received a tip from the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in December 2024
regarding images of child sex abuse that they traced to Crawford. Some of
the disturbing images were of a young girl being sexually abused and
appeared to be newly created, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The image referred to in plea documents depicts Crawford using his hand to
touch the genitals of the young child.
Crawford “later distributed this image to other individuals via a social
media and [a] communications application” on his cell phone, according to
court records.
As part of a plea agreement, Crawford pleaded guilty to a single count of
production of child pornography at a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge
James Boone Baxter on Thursday.
Crawford faces 15 to 30 years in federal prison. Sentencing will be
scheduled before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III at a later date.
Crawford is currently being held in the Hopkins County jail, records show.
He has been in custody since April 2025.
Crawford is represented by Kenneth Hawk of the Federal Public Defender’s
Office. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren
Richards.