On March 8, 2015 Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of a sexual assault that occurred at Sky Ranch Camp. It was reported that 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 fled the scene on foot.
The child received a sexual assault exam (SANE) and a forensic interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Smith County. The child also 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 canvas, investigators made contact with Caylon Whittington, but he denied having any knowledge of an incident occurring at Sky Ranch. At the time of this incident, Whittington lived in the vicinity of Sky Ranch and his address was approximately one mile from the victim’s cabin.
On Oct. 15, 2020, notification of a CODIS match was received from the testing of evidence collected during the SANE exam. The match returned to Whittington, now 29. The Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab requested a known reference sample from Whittington for further examination.
On Oct. 30, 2020, investigators were able to make contact with 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.
Four days later, an arrest warrant affidavit was presented. Judge Kerry Russell of the 7th Judicial District Court issued a warrant for the offense of Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit a Sex Offense and set a bond of $250,000.
On April 6, Whittington was arrested in Llano County and booked into their jail. He was is currently incarcerated on the listed charge.
Republished courtesy of Smith County Sheriff's Office.