Press Release
Resident of Brooklyn, New York Convicted at Trial of Enticing a Minor Produce Child Pornography While a Registered Sex Offender
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida
A Brooklyn, New York resident was convicted at trial yesterday in South Florida of enticing a minor to produce child pornography while he was a registered sex offender.
Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
Dondell Cyrus Davidson, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, was convicted at trial of producing material containing visual depictions of sexual exploitation of minors, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections2251(a) and (e), and while being required to register as a sex offender, he committed a felony offense involving a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2260A. Davidson is scheduled to be sentenced on February 8, 2019, by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Mara. Davidson faces a total statutory minimum sentence of 35 years in prison.
According to court records, between on or about July 24, 2016, and August 1, 2016, Davidson, while living in Brooklyn, engaged in an online sexual relationship with an 11 year-old minor victim who resided in the Southern District of Florida. Davidson exchanged sexually explicit photographs, videos, and chat communications with the minor victim through the use of online social media applications. During his communications with the minor victim, the defendant used a fake online identity in which he represented himself to be someone much younger.
At the time of the criminal acts Davidson was required by federal or other law to register as a sex offender.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigation efforts of ICE-HSI in Miami and New York in this matter. She also thanked the Port St. Lucie Police Department, New York City Police Department, and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Funk and Marton Gyires.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Updated November 16, 2018
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
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