Jason Wymer Arrested On Child Porn Charges After Receiving Accidental Text Of An 8-Year-Old
A mother in Citrus Heights, California was attempting to send a photo of her fully clothed 8-year-old daughter to the child’s older sister. Instead, the image was sent to 42-year-old Jason Wymer.
Normally a misdial or a text sent in error would not garner much attention, but, in Wymer’s case, the less than tech savvy mother landed him in jail facing child porn charges.
Federal court documents indicate Wymer made the mistake of replying to the text and requested additional photos of the girl, reports the Huffington Post. This spurred the mother to contact the FBI.
Federal agents responded to Wymer’s request, posing as the 8-year-old. Throughout several weeks, the FBI monitored Wymer as he sent agents sexually explicit messages.
A search warrant was eventually issued for Wymer’s residence. Authorities uncovered thousands of child pornographic related materials in Wymer’s apartment. He was promptly arrested and now faces charges for possessing child porn.
Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry and among the fastest growing criminal sectors on the internet. Child pornography refers to pornography depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child. These may include magazines, photos, and videos.
Legal definitions of child pornography generally include sexual images exploiting pubescent or pre-pubescent minors. Possession and distribution of child pornography is a criminal offense in the US. Child pornography is illegal and censored in most jurisdictions in the world.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports 17.3 million images and videos of suspected child pornography were uncovered in 2011. According to the Mayo Clinic, 30 to 80 percent of individuals who view child pornography and 76 percent of individuals who have been arrested for internet child pornography have molested a child.
Crimes against children have prompted additional laws such as The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. It is a 2006 federal statute that organizes sex offenders into three tiers and mandates that Tier 3 offenders (the most serious tier) update their whereabouts every three months with lifetime registration requirements. Tier 2 offenders must update their whereabouts every six months with 25 years of registration, and Tier 1 offenders must update their whereabouts every year with 15 years of registration. Failure to register and update information is a felony under the law. Typically, sex offenders are expected to register on a national sex offender registry. This law reinforces more frequent updates when criminals relocate.
[Image via Shutterstock]
