Indiana Man Placed on Probation After Child Solicitation Conviction

A judge has ordered James Raber, 64, to serve eight years on probation after he pled guilty to a lesser charge of child solicitation.

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana man who was caught trying to meet a 13-year-old girl will not serve any time in prison.

James A. Raber, 64, was arrested on May 29, 2025, and originally charged with felony attempted child molestation and child solicitation. A judge ordered him to spend his eight-year sentence on probation after Raber pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of child solicitation.

Raber had been talking to an account online that he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl. Instead, it was the police.

According to the Farmland Police Department, Raber repeatedly asked the fake girl to meet up for sex and told her he was built like SpongeBob.

“So if you ever had a fantasy about f***ing or s***ing SpongeBob, that’s me,” he wrote.

Raber was arrested by Randolph County Sheriff’s deputies and Farmland police officers last May after he arranged a meeting with the fake girl at a Village Pantry in Farmland. There, he was met by police and taken into custody.