A 45-year-old Honolulu man has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexually explicit conversations over the Internet with a 13-year-old La Plata County girl.
Charles Alton Newton III is suspected of using email, Skype and live chats to communicate with the girl, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
Newton is a family friend of the child and has possibly been in contact with the child for more than a year using the Internet, the release says.
Honolulu authorities arrested Newton on Feb. 14 on an arrest warrant obtained by the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
They also executed a search warrant at his home in which authorities seized computers, media-storage devices and photographs of child pornography that can be linked back to the girl in La Plata County, the release says.
The sheriff’s office seized evidence at the girl’s home in La Plata County, the release says.
The month-long investigation by the sheriff’s office uncovered numerous hours of explicit conversations between Newton and the girl that are “unsuitable to be heard by the general public,” the release says.
Honolulu authorities are awaiting the results of a computer forensic analysis of Newton’s computers and media-storage devices before filing formal charges. He is suspected of Internet exploitation of a child.
He also faces charges in La Plata County. Newton is expected to be transported to Durango by the U.S. Marshals Service. He will be held on a $100,000 bail at the La Plata County jail.
The sheriff’s office asks residents to notify Sgt. Investigator Tom Cowing at 382-7045 or Cpl. Patrick “Suess” Beyer at 382-7069 if they suspect Newton has communicated with their children with the Internet.
