Wilmington babysitter pleads guilty to child exploitation charges

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington man has been sentenced to 12 to 24 years in prison after admitting to taking sexually explicit photographs of children he was babysitting, according to a news release from the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors say Elijah Donato, 23, pleaded guilty on November 13 in Superior Court to two counts of indecent liberties with a child and two counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Judge R. Kent Harrell sentenced him to 144 to 294 months in the state’s Division of Adult Correction. Donato will also have to register as a sex offender for 30 years after his release.

According to the DA’s office, the Carolina Beach Police Department began investigating in 2023 after a family reported suspicious behavior by Donato while he was babysitting. Investigators say he encouraged the children in the home to take photographs of their genitals using his phone. The acts were recorded on the family’s interior security cameras.

Detectives later found the images in a hidden folder labeled “my eyes only” during a digital forensic review of Donato’s phone.

“This defendant preyed on young children for his own gratification,” District Attorney Jason W. Smith said in the release. He thanked the parents for alerting authorities quickly, saying their actions, along with the police department’s investigation, helped prevent further abuse.

At the time of his arrest, Donato was a UNCW student and worked as the YMCA Site Coordinator for the Afterschool Care program at Wrightsville Beach Elementary School.