Canadian man sentenced to 25 years in prison for enticing a minor

DALLAS — A Canadian man from the Pacific Northwest was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison for enticing a minor to have sex.

This sentence is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Irving (Texas) Police Department.

Phillip Amisano-Camillo, 43, a resident of Canada, was sentenced on a single count of enticing a minor for sexual purposes.

Amisano-Camillo previously pleaded guilty to the charge Aug. 16, 2013.

His trial was scheduled to begin Aug. 19, 2013 on a two-count indictment charging not only enticement, but also one count of traveling with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor. Per the plea agreement, the court dismissed the traveling count.

According to documents filed in the case, Camillo admitted he met "John Doe" in an Internet chat room in April 2012. In the days and weeks after he met John Doe, whom he knew to be a 14-year-old minor, Camillo chatted online with him via Skype.

Camillo further admitted that in May 2012 he traveled from the state of Washington to Dallas to meet John Doe for a sexual encounter. Camillo also admitted that before and during his time in the Dallas/Fort Worth area he enticed and persuaded John Doe to sneak out of his home and meet him to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Court records also show that Camillo took John Doe to a local hotel and engaged in sexual activity with him.

Camillo's prison term will be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.