A Little Rock man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury, accused of attempting to have sex with a 10-year-old boy last month.
Charles Cliff Brown, who is facing a single charge of attempted enticement of a minor, appeared last week before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerome Kearney, who ordered him to remain in federal custody until his trial.
Kearney said he was concerned about Brown's plan to live with his husband, who would be responsible for ensuring that he followed rules of pretrial release, because Brown was able to conceal his reported crime from his husband, and living with his husband would put Brown "in close proximity to minors."
"After testimony and argument, the Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of the community," Kearney said in a written order filed Jan. 29.
According to a criminal complaint filed Jan. 12 that Kearney found constituted probable cause to arrest Brown and hold him until a grand jury could review his case, Brown was introduced three days earlier to an FBI employee acting in an undercover capacity. An FBI agent's affidavit said Brown was told that the man had a 10-year old son with whom Brown could engage in sexual acts.
The undercover employee and Brown began texting each other through the Kik application, a texting forum, and snippets of their conversations were included in the affidavit.
In the conversations, Brown indicated that he was interested in meeting with the boy, with the boy's father present, and having sex with the boy, the affidavit said. He said he'd never done it before and wouldn't hurt the boy, according to the affidavit. Brown arranged to meet with the boy's father on Jan. 11 inside at a restaurant, where Brown was told that the boy was waiting in an upstairs apartment, the affidavit said.
Brown was arrested as he left the restaurant with the undercover employee expecting to meet with the boy, the affidavit said. Earlier in the day, he had instructed the undercover employee through text messages to take lubricant and condoms to the apartment where he planned to meet the boy, according to the affidavit.
Metro on 02/06/2020