Arizona Man Charged With Attempted Sex Trafficking Of A Child And Attempted Transportation Of A Minor With Intent To Engage In Criminal Sexual Activity

FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Robert Frenchie McGriff, 39, of Mesa, Arizona, charging him with attempted sex trafficking and attempted interstate transportation with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity of a minor female in Stanislaus County, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. 

According to court documents, McGriff traveled by bus from Phoenix, Arizona to Turlock, California in June 2019 with the intent of retrieving a minor female in Turlock and transporting her to work for him as a prostitute. 

This case was the product of an extensive investigation by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Prosecutions Unit and the Stockton Office of Homeland Security Investigations of the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of either charge, McGriff faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years and maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.