New York Man Convicted Of Conspiracy And Attempt To Engage In Sex Trafficking Of A Minor

 Tampa, FL – A federal jury has found Michael Davis (37, Jamaica, NY) guilty of conspiring and attempting to engage in the sex trafficking of a minor. He faces a minimum mandatory of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 9, 2021.

Davis had been indicted on August 13, 2019.

According to evidence presented at trial, in August 2017, Davis began using a social networking website to recruit young women to engage in commercial sex. In December 2017, Davis used the website to send a message to an individual whom he believed was a 17-year-old girl living in Denver, Colorado. Unbeknownst to Davis, however, he was communicating with an undercover agent who specialized in child sex trafficking investigations.

Over the course of several weeks, Davis conspired with another individual to attempt to recruit, entice, transport, and obtain the purported child to travel to the Tampa Bay area so that he could cause her to engage in commercial sex. In an effort to persuade the child, Davis talked about the lavish lifestyle she would have and sent photos of large amounts of cash and marijuana. Davis orchestrated the purchase of a one-way bus ticket for the child and promised to pick her up from the bus station. The day before the child was expected to arrive in Tampa, federal agents coordinated with local law enforcement officers to detain Davis, who admitted he had communicated with the child and purchased a bus ticket for her.

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau Investigation, with assistance from the Largo Police Department and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.

This case resulted from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s efforts to collaborate with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to detect, investigate, and prosecute coercive human trafficking in the Tampa area. This includes trafficking of minors, forced labor, transnational sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.