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Press Release

Federal Jury Convicts Sex Trafficker of Coercing Victims Into Prostitution

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal jury has convicted Ray Davis, 30, of Rochester, NY, of two counts of sex trafficking, one count of sex trafficking conspiracy, two counts of production of child pornography, and two counts of distribution of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life, and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Marangola and Meghan McGuire, who prosecuted the case, stated that in 2015, the defendant ran a sex trafficking operation with co-defendant, Marcus Brown. Davis and Brown preyed upon and exploited teenagers who were homeless and vulnerable, coercing them to engage in commercial sex acts.  

Davis and Brown worked together to take sexually explicit photos of the minor victims and post them on Backpage.com, an online classified advertisement website that was previously shut down by the Department of Justice.

The verdict is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert.

Ray Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on February 25, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa, who presided over the trial of the case.

Marcus Brown was previously convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 26, 2019, at 11:00 a.m., also before Judge Siragusa.

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Updated November 18, 2019

Topic
Violent Crime