Memphis, TN - After a three-day trial, a federal jury found a man guilty of trafficking a minor for sex. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the guilty verdict today.
According to information presented in court, between May and June 2014, Harold Davis, 27, of Memphis, met a female teenage runaway. Davis obtained a cellphone and a wig for the teen and subsequently put her image on Backpage.com to advertise her for commercial sexual encounters.
The defendant’s activity was discovered when a Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputy stopped Davis’ vehicle for a traffic violation. He noticed the female minor in the backseat of the vehicle. The deputy also observed an unusually large amount of condoms and female hygiene products in the car.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Human Trafficking Task Force furthered the investigation into Davis, linking the Backpage ads to Davis through his phone number and email accounts.
On Tuesday, April 5, 2016, a federal jury convicted Davis on one count of sex trafficking a minor and one count of using the internet to conduct an unlawful activity.
Davis is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr. on Thursday, July 14, 2016. He faces a mandatory minimum ten-year sentence and up to life in prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Debra Ireland and Kasey Weiland are prosecuting this case on the government’s behalf.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
