A San Diego man who claimed to be a doctor in an attempt to solicit sexually explicit material from a 15-year-old Florida boy has pleaded guilty to a federal count of attempted enticement of a minor.
Eric Jacob Layton was arrested in 2023 at his University City home on allegations of posing as a doctor, sports reporter, massage therapist and youth sports modeling agent in order to obtain sexually explicit photographs from minors and arrange in-person meetings with the juveniles, officials said.
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The FBI said victims who participated in youth sports were primarily targeted and that Layton presented himself as a sports massage therapist named Travis Parkin who specialized in youth athletics, as well as a sports physician named Dr. Alexis Iniesta.
Layton pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in the Southern District of Florida in connection with attempts to solicit the Florida teen, but is also facing state charges in San Diego related to six alleged victims between the ages of 13 and 16.
He pleaded not guilty to the San Diego charges in 2023 — which include felony counts of lewd acts on a child and contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense — but it’s uncertain when that case might proceed further.
Layton is slated to be sentenced in December in the Florida case. The enticement count carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and Layton’s plea agreement states that prosecutors will seek a 13-year sentence.
According to a factual proffer statement filed in connection with his plea agreement, Layton originally reached out to the Florida boy via Instagram.
Layton claimed to be a writer for a sports publication who wanted to interview the boy, who was described in court documents as an amateur athlete.
Layton later posed as a physician — Dr. Iniesta — and asked the boy a series of questions over the phone that he claimed were necessary for the boy to participate in his sport. Many of the questions were sexually explicit in nature, according to the document, which states Layton also sought pictures of the boy’s genitals that he claimed “were required to determine the minor victim’s physical development.”
The Instagram account used to contact the boy was later found to be linked to Layton, according to the document.
