New Castle Man Charged with Attempted Rape of Child Following Sting
A 26-year-old New Castle man was charged with attempted rape after he made contact with a law enforcement agent posing as a young girl’s parent that would help him arrange a sexual liaison.
In a joint effort by Home Security Investigations (HSI) and the Westchester County District Attorney’s office, Dustin Layme was arrested on Dec. 14 when he entered a hotel room in Greenburgh where he believed the child and parent were waiting.
Layme was charged with first-degree attempted rape; first-degree attempted sexual abuse; three counts of possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child; and attempted predatory assault against a child.
“We thank HSI for pursuing this case and bringing it to our Cyber Crimes Bureau,” said District Attorney Mimi Rocah. “Their vigilance is paramount to prevent vulnerable children from being sexually exploited and preyed upon. My office will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”
The defendant made contact online with an undercover law enforcement agent who thought was the parent of a young girl, according to the felony complaint. During a series of sexually explicit online communications, the defendant discussed engaging in various sexual acts with the child and arranged to meet the child and her parent.
Following Layme’s arrest, the District Attorney’s Office High Technology Crimes Squad conducted a forensic analysis of the defendant’s cell phone and discovered multiple videos of children engaged in sexual acts.
“This investigation centered around allegations of an attempted rape and sexual assault of a pre-school aged child, and evolved to include additional abhorrent allegations,” HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said in a statement. “I applaud the collaborative effort between HSI New York’s Hudson Valley office and the Westchester County District Attorney’s office for their commitment to ensuring our community is kept safe from accused child predators.”
The defendant was remanded to Westchester County Jail. His next court date is Jan. 9.
The district attorney’s office asked that if anyone may have been victimized or may have more information about the defendant, they can call the D.A.’s office at 914-995-TIPS (8477).
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
