Daviess County sheriff's detectives arrested two men Friday during an investigation into crimes against children, serving a warrant at a home near KY 2830 for 35-year-old James Lynn Duncan of Owensboro after a probe that stretched over several months. A second man found at the residence, 37-year-old Luis Angel Candelaria-Alicea, was taken into custody on unrelated failure-to-appear warrants.
Investigators allege Duncan engaged in sexually explicit communications with a juvenile over several months, according to 14news.com. The sheriff's office said Duncan sent the juvenile sexually explicit images, including an explicit video of himself, and requested and received nude images and an explicit video from the juvenile after he was told the juvenile was younger than 18. Detectives executed the arrest warrant on Friday at a home in the 6800 block of KY 2830, as first reported by The Owensboro Times.
Charges Filed Against Duncan
Duncan is facing four counts of using a minor under 18 in a sexual performance along with a charge of distribution of obscene matter to minors, per the Owensboro Times's reporting. The distribution charge is a first offense, a Class A misdemeanor, not a first-degree offense. The same counts were listed by tristatehomepage.com, which cited four counts of use of a minor under 18 in a sexual performance and a first-offense distribution of obscene matter to minors charge. Kentucky's distribution statute, KRS 531.030, makes it a crime to knowingly distribute such material to someone known to be a minor, or to someone the distributor has reasonable facts to believe is a minor, according to the Kentucky General Assembly.
Both Duncan and Candelaria-Alicea were lodged in the Daviess County Detention Center following their arrests. The sheriff's office said evidence collected at the residence was logged into the agency's property room, and the case was investigated by the sheriff's office's general investigations and forensic investigations units.
Second Man's Unrelated Warrants
Candelaria-Alicea was present at the home when detectives arrived to serve the warrant for Duncan, and deputies discovered he had active warrants of his own. He was taken into custody on failure-to-appear warrants tied to charges including third-degree terroristic threatening, second-degree criminal abuse involving a child 12 or younger, theft by unlawful taking of an automobile under $10,000, and flagrant non-support, the same source reported.
Part Of A Broader Pattern In Kentucky
The arrests come amid a string of recent cases across the commonwealth involving alleged online exploitation of minors. Earlier this month, McCracken County law enforcement arrested a 37-year-old youth pastor and church leader, Jared Denney, after a monthlong investigation into allegations that he sent sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl, according to WPSD Local 6. The McCracken County Sheriff's Office said Denney faced a charge of procuring or promoting use of a minor by electronic means, a Class B felony, and the same distribution of obscene matter to minors charge Duncan faces, and described his conduct as grooming while he held a position of special trust.
Kentucky State Police have also reported separate recent enforcement actions involving child exploitation allegations, including the arrest of a Gallatin County man on charges related to child sexual abuse material following an undercover investigation. No connection between that case and the Daviess County arrests has been established.
