PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Alexander Davis, 32, of Monsey, New York, was found guilty after a jury trial for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity and for travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.  The trial took place in Easton, Pennsylvania before United States District Judge Edward G. Smith.

Between December 4 and December 20, 2017, the defendant began communicating online via Craigslist with a person he believed to be a 14-year old female named “Marisa.”  In fact, “Marisa” was a Special Agent with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office acting in an undercover capacity.  Both in online chats and later in text messages, the undercover agent repeatedly told Davis that she was a 14-year old girl.  Davis asked to meet “Marisa” multiple times and peppered their communications with sexual innuendo, including volunteering to bring condoms to their first sexual encounter.  Davis traveled to a McDonald’s restaurant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on the agreed-upon date with condoms and was arrested.

“This predator traveled to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with condoms in his pocket and illegal sex with a minor on his mind,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain.  “At trial, he claimed that he was role-playing, thinking that he was actually communicating with an adult, but the jury did not buy that excuse.  This sort of depravity has no place in our communities.  Thanks to smart detective work and collaboration between state and federal law enforcement agencies, Davis’s plan never came to fruition.”

“Homeland Security Investigations leaves no stone unturned in identifying and arresting perpetrators who seek to prey upon vulnerable children in our communities,” said Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia.  “Thanks to HSI’s partnership with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and the diligent teamwork of federal, state, and local law enforcement in this case, a potentially dangerous child predator has been convicted and will now be held accountable for his actions.”

The case was investigated by Special Agent Kathryn Murray of Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from Special Agent Daniel Block of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Josh Davison.