Sex offender sentenced to 17 years for child sex crimes after cutting off ankle monitor in Seattle

James “Jake” Harrison Newcomer admitted to sexually abusing multiple teens between February and April 2024 after cutting off his electronic monitoring device and disappearing from the Department of Corrections Community Custody in January. “These are heartbreaking crimes. The youngest victim was just 12 years old,” Judge Chun said during sentencing.

According to court records, Newcomer had been serving a term of state supervision following a 30-month prison sentence for two counts of rape of a child. His conditions included electronic monitoring. On January 19, 2024, his ankle monitor lost connection. When corrections officers attempted to arrest him on January 25, he had already fled his residence.

US Attorney Floyd called the case “every parent’s nightmare,” noting that Newcomer “cut off his ankle monitor and preyed upon more than a dozen children for his sexual gratification.”

After fleeing supervision, Newcomer posed as a teenage boy on platforms including Discord and Snapchat to meet girls aged 12 to 16. He then arranged in-person encounters, during which he supplied victims with drugs and alcohol before sexually assaulting them. Victims were located in King, Kitsap, Snohomish, Lewis, Clark, Thurston, and Spokane counties, as well as Woodburn, Oregon.

Investigators later recovered multiple electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material. Not all of the children depicted in those images have been identified.

At the sentencing hearing, family members described the profound emotional and psychological harm inflicted on their children. One father told the court, “He manipulated, drugged, and abused our child,” emphasizing that the trauma has rippled throughout their entire family.

“Already a registered sex offender, Mr. Newcomer clearly didn’t learn his lesson from his previous sentence,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. He commended the collaborative efforts of federal, state, and local agencies, stating that “young people in the Pacific Northwest will be safer with Mr. Newcomer behind bars.”

The investigation involved the FBI, police departments in Woodburn, Auburn, Snoqualmie, Black Diamond, Des Moines, Kent, the King County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, and assistance from the Washington Department of Corrections.

Newcomer pleaded guilty on August 8, 2025, to travel with intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor and two counts of attempted enticement of a minor. The travel charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years; attempted enticement carries a mandatory minimum of ten years and can result in a life sentence.

Following his 17-year prison term, Judge Chun ordered Newcomer to serve a lifetime of supervised release.

The case falls under Project Safe Childhood; a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. The program coordinates federal, state, and local resources to investigate offenders and identify victims.