Man, 42, accused of soliciting sex from 14-year-old
A Texarkana man accused of soliciting sex from a 14-year-old boy appeared in a Bowie County court Monday afternoon on a charge of promoting prostitution. Michael Carroll James, 42, appeared with Shoaib Daredia of the Bowie County Public Defenders Office for a pre-indictment hearing before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Daredia said that James told him he is in the process of hiring Texarkana lawyer Shorty Barrett to represent him in the case which led Tidwell to reschedule James’ next hearing for late September.
The mother of James’ alleged victim filed a report with Texarkana, Texas, police July 26, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. Investigators arranged for the boy to meet with a forensic interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center in Texarkana the following day.
The boy allegedly told the interviewer that James asked him, “if he would like to make money on a rainy day,” to which the boy replied, “yes.”
The boy told the CAC interviewer James offered to pay him a minimum of $35 in exchange for sexual activity.
James allegedly began rubbing the boy’s back while the two of them were seated in James’ car and when the boy moved away from him James allegedly said, “You got to get used to me touching you.”
The boy told the CAC interviewer that he told James he changed his mind about making extra money and asked him to take him home.
According to the affidavit, the boy’s mother told police James is a family friend who worked for Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District. Spokeswoman Tina Veal Gooch said James worked as a security guard for TISD from Sept. 1, 2005, until July 11, two weeks before he allegedly solicited the teen. Gooch said James resigned his position to accept a job elsewhere.
James is currently free on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond. If convicted , he faces two to 20 years in prison.
llarowe@texarkanagazette.com