Michael Quinn, Sex Trafficking, California 2024

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LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 20, 2024

Australian Man Arrested after Allegedly Traveling to Los Angeles to Buy 6-Year-Old Boy for Sex

Michael Quinn, 33, of Melbourne, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Monday with traveling to the United States 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 (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). After the complaint was filed on Monday afternoon, Quinn made his initial appearance in United States District Court, where he was ordered held in jail pending a detention hearing on Friday.

“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 HSI Los Angeles.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by HSI, with assistance from the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The child sex trafficking charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a maximum term of life without parole. Traveling with the intent of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Quinn allegedly met undercover agents on a social networking site that caters to individuals with a sexual interest in children. He offered $250 to a human trafficker to provide him with a young boy to engage in illicit sex. 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 HSI 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.

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