A Florida man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual activity.
St. Petersburg resident Christopher Edwin Day, 52, was sentenced earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after the case first began nearly six years ago in the summer of 2016 when Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Vietnam received a lead from a local nongovernmental organization in Hanoi reporting the potential molestation of a minor.
"Thanks to HSI's international investigative authorities and strong partnerships, both at HSI Tampa and HSI Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this sexual predator was stopped from harming more children, and his victims will have the justice they deserve," HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas said in a news release. "The laws of the United States will still catch up to child predators who travel to foreign countries to sexually abuse minor children."
The release stated that HSI special agents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Tampa oversaw the probe of Day, who was ultimately convicted of engaging in sex acts with Vietnamese minors he met over the Internet. According to documents filed in the case, on two separate occasions in 2015 and 2016, Day traveled from his home state to Vietnam to engage in sex acts with minor Vietnamese boys.
Investigators added Day traveled back and forth to Vietnam under the guise that he was an English teacher. While some victims were introduced to him as their teacher, investigators added others were lured by promises of money and gifts.
In moving forward with the case, HSI officials worked with the U.S. State Department's Regional Security Office in Hanoi and Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security, ultimately interviewing more than 10 victims and their parents.
Day was taken into custody in August 2019 and entered his guilty plea roughly six months later. During sentencing, one victim took the stand to speak out about the impact Day's conduct has had on him, revealing he has now dropped out of school, suffers from insomnia and has difficulty socializing and maintaining employment.
"The testimony of this brave young man highlights the profound and lasting negative effects that crimes of sexual exploitation have on surviving victims," HSI Vietnam Country Attache Michael Allan added. "We will continue to use our broad investigative authority to work with international partners and ensure criminals who seek to prey upon vulnerable children, no matter where they are, are brought to justice."
