JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 27-year-old Georgia man has been indicted for child sex trafficking in Jacksonville.
Devin Lee Smith of Waynesville, Georgia, was indicted with child sex trafficking, enticing a minor to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution or unlawful sexual activity, transporting a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution or unlawful sexual activity, and using a facility of interstate commerce to promote and carry on prostitution activities. If convicted on all counts, he faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison.
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According to the indictment, Smith transported a minor female from Georgia to Jacksonville, where he then engaged in commercial sex trafficking of the minor. The indictment also alleges that Smith used a mobile phone to carry out his illicit activities.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by Northeast Florida Human Trafficking Task Force, a specialized task force made up of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.