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Utah sex offender busted for threatening to post nude pictures of Westland teen, police say

James Monson threatens 14-year-old girl, officials say

James Robert Monson (Utah sex offender registry)

WESTLAND, Mich. – A Utah sex offender was busted last month for threatening to post nude pictures of a Westland teenager if she didn't talk to him, officials said.

James Robert Monson, 28, of Ogden, Utah, was convicted of first-degree rape of a child in February 2008, according to records. He was released in February 2012.

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Now, Monson is accused of having sexual chats with a Westland teenager and faces possible charges of production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct, officials said.

Mother finds conversations on devices

On March 15, the mother of a 14-year-old Westland girl was checking her daughter's phone and tablet and discovered her daughter was having sexually explicit conversations with Monson over Skype, according to authorities.

The girl's mother called Westland police and said the father had noticed a message on their daughter's phone that threatened to post pictures of her online unless she talked to Monson, police said.

Authorities said Monson had conversations with the girl over Skype, Kik and possibly Snapchat. They said he added the girl on Facebook, but later deleted her.

During the conversations, Monson sent his email address and password to his iCloud account to the girl, officials said. He also sent pictures of himself, including of his face, according to court records.

Police said Monson also sent the girl a ring and provided his return address on the envelope. The address matched Monson's address on the Utah sex offenger registry, according to authorities.

What police found on devices

The girl's parents turned over their daughter's iPhone, tablet and iPod to Westland police and allowed them to be searched by the FBI, officials said.

Agents said the girl had chats with someone identified as "Babe" with a heart emoji after the name.

Some of their conversations appeared to show a chat during which the girl and Monson would engage in sexual activity while on web camera, according to court records.

There were also chats on the devices that showed the girl involved with a user she identified as her boyfriend with Kik username "viper1303," police said. In chats, that user states being from Utah, officials said.

Most of the conversations that appeared to be between the girl and Monson were over Skype video calls, where his username was "jrmonson13," according to police. Authorities said they could 191 calls.

Pictures and videos of the girl that met the definition of child pornography was found on the devices, police said.

Authorities traced the Kik and Skype usernames back to Monson, according to court records.

Teenager interview

Police spoke to the 14-year-old girl, who told them she had started to talk to Monson in January 2019.

She said they met on Kik through a random chat and exchanged usernames, police said.

The girl told police she had developed a "relationship" with Monson and eventually engaged in sexual activity on web camera with each other, according to records.

She said she had first represented herself as a 15-year-old, but later admitted to Monson that she was 14 years old, police said.

Monson first told the girl he was 20 years old, but later admitted that he was 28 years old, according to records.

Utah search warrant

A search warrant was executed June 12 at Monson's home in Ogden, police said.

Monson was present at the home and waived his Mirando rights, officials said.

Monson told agents he had been in a "relationship" with the girl and that they had met on Kik, officials said. He told agents they had also communicated on Snapchat and Skype, according to records.

Monson claimed the girl had first told him that she was 17 years old, but he later found out that she was only 14 years old, agents said.

He admitted the chats were sexual in nature, according to authorities. He said they would video chat naked every couple of days for a few months, officials said.

Monson admitted that after the girl's parent had contacted him on Facebook Messenger to leave their daughter alone, he continued to chat with her, including chats that were sexual in nature, police said.

Authorities said Monson admitted it was a mistake to chat with the girl about sex after he found out she was 14 years old.

Officials said in the criminal complaint that there is probable cause to believe Monson produced child pornography and coerced and enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.


About the Author
Derick Hutchinson headshot

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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