Crime & Safety
Australian Scientist Admits to Trying to Buy LA Boy, 6, for Sex
An Australian scientist flew to Los Angeles and paid undercover officers to have sex with young boys.
LOS ANGELES, CA - An Australian scientist who was arrested when he arrived at a Los Angeles-area hotel, allegedly to "buy" a 6-year-old boy for sex, pleaded guilty today to a federal charge.
Michael Quinn, 33, of Melbourne, pleaded guilty to traveling to the United States for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"Mr. Quinn traveled to the United States to have sex with a young child," said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. "Fortunately, law enforcement was able to ensure that no child was put in harm's way and that Mr. Quinn would face severe consequences for his conduct."
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U.S. District Judge John F. Walter set an Oct. 3 sentencing hearing, at which time Quinn will face a federal prison sentence of about a dozen years.
Quinn was arrested May 21 by immigration enforcement agents, a few weeks after undercover agents encountered him on a social networking site that caters to individuals with a sexual interest in children.
Quinn told an undercover agent he was traveling to Los Angeles and wanted to "meet up with a dad who shares his young ones," according to an affidavit.
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He explained to the agent he was hoping to meet "other pervs" in the United States and ultimately agreed to pay a human trafficker $250 to provide him with a young boy with whom he could engage in illicit sex, the document states.
On May 21, 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, prosecutors said.
Quinn went to the hotel room not realizing the men inside were actually undercover operatives, according to federal prosecutors. 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.
City News Service