Australian Man Sentenced for L.A. Child Sex Plot

Michael Quinn, a 33-year-old geneticist from Melbourne, Australia, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for traveling to Los Angeles with the intent to sexually abuse a 6-year-old boy. U.S. District Judge John F. Walter handed down the sentence, marking the end of a sting operation that exposed Quinn’s hidden predation behind a façade of professional respectability.

Quinn was arrested on May 21 at a Los Angeles-area hotel after paying $260 to an undercover agent he believed was a human trafficker offering a young child for sex. According to court documents, Quinn had agreed to pay $250 for the boy and openly discussed his plans in online chats, including his desire to “anally sodomize someone he knew was a 6-year-old boy.” He thought he was connecting with like-minded predators—but instead, he walked into a federal trap.

The investigation began in May 2016, when undercover agents identified Quinn on a social networking site catering to individuals with a sexual interest in children. In conversations, Quinn expressed his intent to “meet up with a dad who shares his young ones” and sought out “other pervs” in the United States. Federal prosecutors say his travel to the U.S. was driven by a singular, criminal purpose: to sexually assault a child.

“This defendant appeared to be a successful, well-liked professional – but he had a secret, online life in which he made clear his sexual interest in children,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This defendant thought he had arranged to rape a young child, but the vigilance of law enforcement spared any potential victims from being sexually abused.”

Joseph Macias, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, emphasized the reach of U.S. law enforcement: “This sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to online child predators who mistakenly believe the internet and a plane ticket will enable them to act on their dark desires with impunity. 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.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joey Blanch of the Violent and Organized Crime Section. It was part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative launched in 2006, and HSI’s Operation Predator, both aimed at dismantling networks of child sexual exploitation and bringing predators to justice—no matter where they come from.

RELATED: Ohio Couple Nabbed in $2.3M Student Loan Scam