After an investigation involving Facebook Messenger logs, the Ames Police Department arrested an Ames man and charged him with sexually assaulting a minor.

James Button, 24, was charged with third degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor. He was additionally charged for possession of marijuana among other charges. 

Commander Geoff Huff of the Ames Police said Button used Facebook to send graphic images to the 15-year-old victim. 

“I think especially with minors it’s really important to make sure you’re paying attention through their social media accounts, who they’re contacting, where they’re going as much as possible,” Huff said.

The police found conversations through Facebook Messenger starting in April 2017. Some of these conversations were of a sexual nature, Huff said, and some involved exchanging inappropriate photos. 

Huff said sex acts occurred between the victim and the defendant on three different occasions at Brookside Park. 

The police do not know how the victim and the defendant first came in contact.

Button’s bail was set for $1,000, but he has since been bailed out. 

“It’s really difficult obviously as a parent to keep a super close eye,” Huff said. “Every kid now has a smart phone it feels like, so it makes it difficult, but you still need to at least make that attempt to keep your eye on what’s going on, so these kinds of things don’t occur.”