LOS ANGELES
An Australian man was arrested over the weekend when he arrived at a Los Angeles-area hotel allegedly to buy a 6-year-old boy for sex, authorities announced today.
Michael Quinn, 33, of Melbourne, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Monday with traveling to the U.S. for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. The complaint also charges Quinn with attempted sex trafficking of a minor.
Quinn was arrested Saturday by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s or ICE) Homeland Security Investigations. After the complaint was filed on Monday afternoon, Quinn made his initial appearance in United States District, where he was ordered held in jail pending a detention hearing on Friday.
“Predators who travel overseas to sexually exploit children do not just victimize children in faraway lands,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “As this case shows, children everywhere are vulnerable to such predators, including children right here in Los Angeles. The Internet has helped to enable the child sex tourism industry by making the world a smaller place, but this case, and others like it by my office, show that such international predators can and will be brought to justice.”
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the investigation began earlier this month after undercover Homeland Security special agents met Quinn on a social networking site that caters to individuals with a sexual interest in children, officials said.
Quinn told undercover agents he was traveling to Los Angeles and wanted to “meet up with a dad who shares his young ones.”
Quinn explained to the undercover agent he was hoping to meet “other pervs” in the U.S. and ultimately agreed to pay a human trafficker $250 to provide him with a young boy with whom he could engage in illicit sex, according to officials.
On Saturday afternoon, Quinn went to a Los Angeles-area hotel expecting to meet with three fellow child predators for a party, during which the men would engage in sex with boys provided by the sex trafficker.
Quinn went to the hotel room not realizing the men inside were actually undercover Homeland Security special agents.
A short time later, another undercover agent, posing as the sex trafficker, arrived to collect payment for the children.
After Quinn handed the sex trafficker his money, law enforcement authorities came into the hotel room and took him into custody.
“Millions of tourists flock to Los Angeles every year for all this city has to offer, but if you’re coming here to sexually exploit children, expect to be met by law enforcement, not a welcome mat,” said Joseph Macias, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles. “As this case vividly illustrates, the advent of the Internet means youth are now vulnerable to exploitation by sexual predators not just around the corner, but around the globe. Pedophiles should be on notice, HSI and its law enforcement partners are using all of the resources at our disposal to combat this reprehensible behavior and hold the perpetrators responsible for their crimes.”
If convicted of the crimes, Quinn is facing up to life in prison, officials said.
The defendant is innocent unless proven guilty.