Man Accused Of Posing As Doctor To Solicit Teens Pleads Not Guilty

SAN DIEGO, CA — A San Diego man already facing federal charges for allegedly posing as a doctor in order to solicit sexually explicit material from a 15-year-old Florida boy pleaded not guilty Thursday to state charges related to six other alleged minor victims.

Eric Jacob Layton, 50, was arrested last month at his University City home on allegations of posing as a doctor, sports reporter, massage therapist and youth sports modeling agent in order to solicit sexually explicit photographs from minors and/or arrange in-person meetings with the juveniles.

The FBI said victims who participated in youth sports were primarily targeted and that Layton has presented himself as a sports massage therapist named Travis Parkin who specialized in youth athletics and as a sports physician named Dr. Alexis Iniesta, the FBI said.

In a news release, the FBI said that in addition to the Florida teen, San Diego-based victims had been identified.

A criminal complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court charges Layton with 14 felonies, including lewd acts on a child, contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense, and treating the sick/afflicted without a certificate.

The alleged victims in the San Diego case range in age from 13 to 16 years old, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.

According to an affidavit in support of the federal criminal complaint, Layton originally reached out to the Florida boy via Instagram and claimed to be a writer for a sports publication.

He later allegedly posed as a physician -- Dr. Iniesta -- and asked the boy a series of questions over the phone that he claimed were necessary for the boy to participate in his sport. Many of the questions were sexually explicit in nature, according to the affidavit, which states Layton also sought pictures of the boy that he claimed "were required to determine the minor victim's physical development."

The Instagram and email accounts used to contact the boy were found to be linked to Layton, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that following Layton's arrest, law enforcement accessed his cell phone and discovered conversations between him and five minors, in which he had posed as a modeling recruiter and requested photographs from the minors "for a modeling portfolio." He also allegedly reached out to young males on Instagram while posing as a female recruiter for "young athletic models" and solicited pictures, the document states.

— City News Service