SMITH COUNTY, Texas — A man who was arrested for burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit a sexual offense stemming from an incident at an East Texas Christian camp in 2015 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
On Monday, Caylon Whittington, 30, of Mineola, pleaded guilty to the charge and received his sentencing in the 241st District Court of Judge Jack Skeen.
According to the Smith County Sheriff's Office, on March 8, 2015, deputies responded to a report of a sexual assault that occurred at Sky Ranch on County Road 448 near Van.
It was reported an unknown white male entered into a cabin in the middle of the night and inappropriately touched a female child who was sleeping in her bed. The male was observed by one of the female chaperones at the camp before he ran away.
The child received a sexual assault exam (SANE) and a forensic interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County and provided a detailed account of the assault, as well as a detailed description of the suspect.
Investigators with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough canvass of the area and spoke with several persons of interest who matched the general description provided by the victim. During this time, investigators spoke with Caylon Whittington, but he denied having any knowledge of the incident.
The SCSO says Whittington lived in the vicinity of Sky Ranch and his address was approximately one mile from the victim’s cabin.
On October 15, 2020, notification of a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) match was received from the testing of evidence collected during the SANE exam. CODIS is a national database comprised of several indexes including DNA profiles of convicted offenders, profiles developed from evidence in unsolved crimes and profiles developed for the identification of missing persons.
The SCSO says the "match" returned to Whittington, 29, of Mineola. Additionally, the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab requested a known reference sample from Whittington for further examination.
On October 30, 2020, investigators were able to contact Whittington. With an evidentiary search warrant, a sample of Whittington’s DNA was collected for comparison. On April 1, 2021, results from the DPS lab were returned, showing Whittington to be a match.
On April 5, 2021, an arrest warrant affidavit was presented to Judge Kerry Russell who issued a warrant for Whittington's arrest.
On April 6, 2021, Whittington was arrested in Llano County and booked into the Llano County Jail. He was then transferred to the Smith County Jail.
