Littleport child porn predator set to face 13 years in an American jail

Paul Charles Wilkins, 70, a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, was caught following a sting operation by undercover special agents in California.

Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles, said: “This defendant learned firsthand the fate that awaits predators who come to this country to sexually exploit our children.

“HSI special agents continue to work tirelessly to identify individuals who’re engaged in this reprehensible practice and ensure they’re held accountable for their actions.

“Above all, our collaborative efforts have prevented countless children from falling prey to these travelling paedophiles, who wrongly believe that purchasing an airline ticket and boarding a plane puts them out of the reach of the law.”

Under a plea agreement Wilkins is expected to be sentenced to 13 years in January.

United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker said: “Child predators – whether foreign or domestic – threaten the most vulnerable members of society, which is why we devote considerable resources to stopping them.”

Wilkins allegedly travelled to the Coachella Valley in late January in order to engage in illicit sexual conduct with brothers who were 10 and 12 years old.

While the first count of the indictment relates to Wilkins’ travel to the US to allegedly have sex with two pre-teen boys, the attempted sex trafficking charge stems from a deal the defendant allegedly brokered with an undercover investigator in which he paid $250 to have sex with a nine-year-old boy at an apartment he had rented in Palm Springs.

The child pornography counts relate to images found on a laptop computer and a digital storage device that were seized when Wilkins was arrested on February 11 at his rented apartment after allegedly paying the money to the undercover operative.