Bowie County man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child

TEXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana, Texas man has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

 

Caleb Layne Crawford, 26, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III on October 13, 2026.

 

According to information presented in court, in December 2024, law enforcement authorities received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reporting the upload of several images of child pornography from an account associated with Crawford. Investigation into the report revealed Crawford used his cell phone to produce sexually explicit photos of the child victim and then distributed the images to individuals via a social media application.

 

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

 

This case was investigated by the Department of Army Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Division, and Texarkana, Texas Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Richards.