A San Diego man has been arrested and charged with attempted production of child pornography, and authorities asked the public for help Wednesday in identifying any local victims.
Eric Jacob Layton, who previously went by Eric Leighton Abrams, is accused of role playing in in order to solicit sexually explicit photographs from minors and/or arrange in-person meetings with the juveniles.
He posed as a doctor, sports reporter, massage therapist and youth sports modeling agent, officials said.
Layton faced federal charges in Florida, but according to the FBI, several potential victims have been identified and are believed to be based out of San Diego.
Anyone with information regarding suspicious contact with Layton was encouraged to email the FBI at laytoninvestigation@fbi.gov.
The FBI said the suspect primarily targeted victims who participated in youth sports, at times presenting himself as a sports massage therapist named Travis Parkin who specialized in youth athletics or as a sports physician named Dr. Alexis Iniesta.
Layton was arrested last Thursday at his home in connection with the alleged solicitation of a 15-year-old Florida boy. He awaits extradition there.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court, Layton originally reached out to the boy via Instagram and claimed to be a writer for a sports publication.
He later allegedly posed as Dr. Iniesta, asking the boy a series of questions over the phone that he claimed were necessary for participation in his sport.
Many of the questions were sexually explicit in nature, according to the complaint, which states Layton also sought pictures of the boy that he claimed “were required to determine the minor victim’s physical development.”
The Instagram and email accounts used to contact the boy were found to be linked to Layton, the complaint states..
– City News Service
