Serial sex offender in Arizona back in custody, accused of trying to meet minor for sex
PHOENIX - A serial sex offender is behind bars once again, and this time, the suspect was arrested after police say he fell for a social media decoy that he believed to be a minor.
A concerned citizen confronted the suspect, 46-year-old James Swindle, on November 14. The confrontation happened in broad daylight, near Jefferson Street and the I-17.
"I wanna have a little chat with you. Are you James?" the person asked.
Swindle apparently did not confirm his identity to the person who was asking questions.
"That’s not you. You sure about that? I can call the police," the person said. "I don’t really wanna do that. I just wanna find out what you’re doing, and who you’re meeting."
"What I’m doing and who I’m meeting?" Swindle asked.
"Yes, sir," the person said. "How old’s this girl you’re meeting?"
"I have no idea," Swindle replied.
"What did she tell you?" the person asked Swindle.
"18," Swindle replied.
18, however, was not the age Swindle told Phoenix Police, according to the probable cause statement.
Swindle's arrest was captured on camera. Swindle is classified as a Level 3 sex offender – the highest risk to re-offend. He’s done prison time for having sex with minors, and in July, he was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender.
According to police, Swindle admitted to engaging with an online profile that identified herself as 13. Police also say Swindle admitted to being ‘pervy’ before agreeing to meet the minor. The incident happened two weeks after Swindle was released, on Halloween.
"You are booked for one count of sexual exploitation of a minor," said the presiding judge during Swindle's court appearance. "That’s a Class 2 felony."
Decoy set up by anti-predator group
Court documents reveal it was those concerned citizens behind the 13-year-old persona as a decoy.
Rob Raybourn is with a group named "Women Against Predators." The group assisted with messaging Swindle back in June, through a Facebook group for teens.
"He liked our profile," said Raybourn. "We had a message on the group that said, 'hi, 13, bored,’ and he reached out from there. He initiated contact with us. Started through messenger. We told him our age immediately. Once we told him our age, he continued talking to us."
As mentioned above, Swindle was released on Halloween, after he was arrested in July for failing to register as a sex offender. Swindle was released on the condition of electronic monitoring, and according to Raybourn, Swindle started messaging the fake minor just days after his release.
"He started right where he left off, sending images of himself. Graphic talk," Raybourn said.
Court documents state that Swindle sent over 10 sexually explicit images and videos.
"Honestly, made all of us sick," said Raybourn. "Shocked us. Took it to a level that nobody expected."
As for Swindle's probation, his address on Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's sex offender registry lists an intersection: 22nd Avenue and Jefferson in Phoenix. Swindle is homeless, and records say he has a "severity of repeated sex offenses."
"We dug everywhere because we were concerned with the extent of his past charges, and that he was a repeat offender," said Raybourn.
Suspect has prior history of crimes involving children
We have learned that Swindle has a history of doing time for abusing kids.
In 1998, Swindle was sentenced to prison for abusing a child and attempted sexual assault.
In 2002, he served time for forgery and attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
In 2013, he pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage girl three times, and was sentenced to nearly two years in prison.
In 2014, prosecutors argued that Swindle violated his probation by failing to attend sex offender treatment.
During a probation revocation hearing, prosecutors told the court that Swindle had a high-risk to re-offend, deeming him a 'sexually violent predator' because his victims were aged three, 13, and 15.
Swindle pleaded with the judge for another chance, but the judge told Swindle "you’ve got a really long criminal history, and this isn’t your only case involving sexual acts with minors."
"When you’ve got this criminal history, you did not have a chance to waste," said the judge.
Swindle was sent back to prison for another four years, before being released back onto the streets in 2018. A year later, he was arrested again on a drug violation, and sentenced to three years.
For the better part of three decades, Swindle has been in and out of Arizona jails. Now, he is facing yet another allegation: attempting to have sex with a minor.