IU economics lecturer arrested on child solicitation charge after Florida undercover probe, police say

Staff report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – February 12, 2026

A senior lecturer in Indiana University’s Department of Economics was arrested Thursday morning on a Level 5 felony child solicitation charge following an undercover investigation that began in Florida, Bloomington police said.

According to Bloomington Police Capt. Ryan Pedigo, a Bloomington Police Department detective was contacted Jan. 8 by an investigator with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in Florida about an undercover operation conducted in October 2025. In that operation, officers posed as juveniles online to identify people soliciting minors for sex acts, Pedigo said.

The Florida investigator reported that while posing as a 14-year-old boy on a social media platform, a man initiated communication, requested nude photographs, and discussed meeting in person to perform sex acts, police said. The suspect also sent explicit photographs and identified himself as a teacher at a college, Pedigo said.

Investigators determined the suspect lived in Bloomington and identified him as James K. Self, 61, police said.

On Feb. 12 at about 6:45 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle Self was operating, took him into custody, and transported him to the Bloomington Police Department for an interview, Pedigo said. After the interview, Self was taken to the Monroe County Jail and remanded to custody on the child solicitation charge, police said.

Investigators also served a search warrant at Self’s residence, and the investigation remains ongoing, Pedigo said.

Indiana University’s Department of Economics lists Self as director of undergraduate studies and a senior lecturer.

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