Wichita man sentenced to 12 years in sex trafficking case involving teen, DA says

A 27-year-old Wichita man was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of commercial sexual exploitation of a child, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

James Deangelo Sexton was arrested in August 2018 in connection to an undercover operation where a 15-year-old runaway was being sex trafficked, according to a news release. Kelly Wayne Holt, 22, of Wichita, has been convicted of aggravated endangerment of a child and unlawful use of a communication facility in connection to the case and is awaiting sentencing.

The two were arrested after the Exploited and Missing Child Unit conducted an investigation into an online escort ad. Officers called a phone number on one of the ads and set up a meeting at a northwest Wichita hotel.

Holt and a 15-year-old girl were seen walking into the hotel. The teen was a runaway from another county, according to the DA.

“After an exchange of money, detectives arrested the man who drove them to the location, James Sexton,” the release says.

Sexton has two previous convictions of aggravated robbery in Sedgwick County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. Sexton was a parolee under high supervision when the arrest occurred, The Eagle previously reported.

This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 1:07 PM.