Man faces multiple charges for sex with teen
FORT LAUDERDALE — A 27- year- old man — accused of having sex with an underage teen and recording it on video without the victim’s knowledge — is now facing a slew of charges.
The investigation began in July after the girl’s father called Fort Lauderdale police when he learned Caleb Mason Wright had been engaged in sexual contact with the girl for about a year, according to the arrest report.
The teen told detectives she was 16 at the time she met Wright, then 25, at a ComicCon convention in Miami in March 2019.
The relationship then became physical, investigators said.
Wright told her to keep their relationship discreet because of her age, the report stated.
On one occasion in April 2019, Wright plied her with alcohol and pressured her into sex, investigators said. She later told detectives she drank alcohol “to the point where, like, I couldn’t feel my legs” and she didn’t remember what happened after that, the arrest report said.
Within days, Wright emailed the victim videos of their encounters. She was filmed without her knowledge, authorities said, and the videos were collected as evidence.
An arrest warrant was issued in August and Wright was taken into custody Friday.
At Wright’s bond hearing on Saturday, the Broward assistant state attorney told the court that Wright knew the girl was underage and Wright also knew that he filmed explicit video without her knowledge.
Bond was set at $ 54,000 on charges including sexual assault and battery on a victim 16 or 17, promoting a sexual performance by a child, and transmitting child pornography, records show.
Nichols told Broward Judge Michael Lynch that Wright was already out on a $ 34,000 bond for the same case in Miami- Dade because the videos were sent to the victim, who lives in that county.
“He’s b e i ng d o u b l e thumped,” said Wright’s attorney, Bob Nichols. “So, running up a bond, respectfully, that’s outrageous.”
The age of consent is 18, according to Florida statutes. People under age 16 cannot give consent under any circumstances. Those ages of 16 and 17 can give consent to a partner up to the age of 23.