Atkins Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material

LITTLE ROCK-James Baker will spend 235 months in federal prison for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.

On August 5, 2025, Baker, 28, of Atkins, was indicted by a federal grand jury in a 14-count Indictment on seven counts of production of CSAM and seven counts of receipt of CSAM. On March 4, 2026, Baker pleaded guilty to one count of production of CSAM. Judge Miller also sentenced Baker to five years' supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

On June 30, 2025, following a report to the child abuse hotline advising of inappropriate text messages between a 12-year-old minor female victim and a 27-year-old male, later identified as Baker, law enforcement initiated an investigation into Baker. Law enforcement discovered that Baker received numerous nude photographs and videos of the minor female victim. Officers also discovered text messages from Baker requesting the minor female victim send him sexually explicit photographs and videos.

Between July 5, 2025, and August 4, 2025, Baker conversed with a second minor female victim. The 16-year-old minor female victim and Baker discussed moving in together in a camper. Baker and the minor female victim also exchanged sexually explicit photographs. Baker, in one conversation, told the minor female victim that he would love to marry her after she turned 18. He further told the minor female victim that he lied to his friend because his friend would inform the police if he knew the minor female victim's age.

In a meeting with his probation officer, Baker admitted that he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a female he knew to be 12 years old and with another who was 16 years old. He also admitted that he sent and received nude photographs and videos. Baker further stated that he did not know why, but that he was attracted to younger girls.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc. Parents are encouraged to always monitor your children's online activity.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security with assistance from the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and the Arkansas State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

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