Man sentenced in sex trafficking sting
Offered $200 for two young girls
A Lexington man received a 15-year federal prison sentence Tuesday for trying to buy sex from a purported 14-year-old girl in a sting operation in which he asked an undercover agent to tell the minor to expect someone who resembles Santa Claus, authorities said.
David Chris Cannon, 61, had pleaded guilty in November to one count each of attempted sex trafficking of a child and possession of child pornography, according to Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office.
Cannon, a registered sex offender who had been convicted in 2019 of indecently assaulting an 11-year-old, had responded in November 2022 to an online advertisement offering commercial sex with two young girls, prosecutors said in a statement.
In an ensuing text conversation with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent posing as a trafficker, Cannon offered to pay $200 for sex with either a 12-year-old or 14year-old girl and said he would select “whoever was ready first,” prosecutors said.
He ultimately chose the fictitious 14-year-old and traveled to a hotel in Greater Boston, where he confirmed to the undercover agent that he had the cash to pay for commercial sex and accepted a room key, prosecutors said.
“Cannon also said to tell the child to expect a man who looks like Santa Claus,” prosecutors said.
Cannon was arrested at the hotel.
A search of his cell phone turned up dozens of photos and videos of child pornography as well as text messages discussing his “affinity for” the illicit material, prosecutors said. Cannon was also ordered at sentencing to pay $17,500 in restitution to the identified victims in the illegal images, prosecutors said.
“Individuals like Cannon drive the demand for sex trafficking of children,” Levy said. “Those who seek to pay for sex with kids must be seriously punished so that the message resonates that there are grave consequences for engaging in such deplorable conduct.”
Theodore A. Barone, a lawyer for Cannon, had requested a 10year sentence for his client in a recent court filing.
“Mr. Cannon is an individual who is capable of returning to society,” Barone wrote.
The state Sex Offender Registry Board classifies Cannon as a Level III offender, meaning he’s deemed to pose a high risk of reoffending, records show.