Caleb Eugene Huggins
Saline County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a Benton man on Monday, in relation to sexually explicit conduct with a minor.
On the afternoon of May 10th, 2021, detectives with the Saline County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force arrested Caleb Eugene Huggins, age 39, of Benton on charges that he engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor, which took place over an online messaging service. Huggins was taken into custody without incident and charged with Engaging Children in Sexually Explicit Conduct for Use in Visual Print Medium. Huggins has been the suspect in an ongoing investigation, which originally began in Washington State.
Arkansas Law §5-27-303 defines Engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium:
(a) Any person 18 years of age or older who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any child to engage in or who has a child assist any other person to engage in any sexual explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium depicting the sexually explicit conduct is guilty of:
(1) Class B felony for the first offense; and
(2) Class A felony for a subsequent offense.
(b) Any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody or control of a child who knowingly permits the child to engage in or assist any other person to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium depicting the sexually explicit conduct is guilty of a:
(1) Class B felony for the first offense; and
(2) Class A felony for a subsequent offense.
Since 2020, the SCSO has been a member of the Arkansas ICAC Task Force. It is made up of 42 local police departments and sheriff’s offices as well as federal partners and prosecuting agencies that all work together to keep children safe and hold offenders accountable.