A registered sex offender has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the sexual exploitation of ten minor girls, following his escape from Department of Corrections Community Custody supervision. James “Jake” Harrison Newcomer, 28, admitted in U.S. District Court in Seattle that between February and April 2024 he sexually abused ten teens he met through social media. The plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller.
According to court records, Newcomer was under state supervision after serving a 30-month sentence for two counts of rape of a child. He had been fitted with an electronic ankle monitor as part of his release conditions. On January 19, 2024, the monitor lost connection, and by January 25, corrections officers found that Newcomer had left his residence and could not be located.
Over the following three months, Newcomer used social media to contact teen girls aged 12 to 16 from King, Kitap, Snohomish, Lewis, Clark, Thurston, and Spokane Counties in Washington State as well as Woodburn, Oregon. He arranged meetings with them in person during which he provided drugs and alcohol before sexually assaulting them.
Newcomer pleaded guilty to travel with intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor and two counts of attempted enticement of a minor. The first charge carries a potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison; enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and up to life imprisonment.
Both prosecution and defense will recommend that Newcomer receive a sentence of 17 years when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John H. Chun on November 17, 2025.
The investigation involved several agencies including the FBI; police departments from Woodburn (Oregon), Auburn, Snoqualmie, Black Diamond, Des Moines; the King County Sheriff’s Office; the Kent Police Department; the Marion County District Attorney’s Office; and the Department of Corrections.
Assistant United States Attorney Cecelia Gregson is prosecuting the case.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to combat child sexual exploitation online by bringing together federal, state and local resources for investigation and prosecution. More information about this program can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
