NY man charged with travelling to NJ to sexually abuse teenage girl

CAMDEN, N.J. — A Manhattan man was arrested Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on a federal charge that he traveled across state lines from New York to New Jersey for the purpose of sexually abusing a teenage girl.

Michael Tway Smith, 66, of New York, was arrested and charged in Camden federal court with traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Smith was arrested in Maple Shade, New Jersey, where he was expected to meet the girl.

According to court documents, on Nov. 13 Smith initiated a series of chats on a website with an undercover special agent from ICE HSI, whom he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Over the course of several days Smith had multiple online communications with the agent during which he indicated his desire to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious girl. Smith then made arrangements to travel from Manhattan to New Jersey. On Nov. 19 Smith traveled to Maple Shade, where he had reserved a room at a motel and contacted the fictitious girl to finalize the meeting. On Thursday, Smith went to a convenience store near the motel believing he was going to meet the girl and return to the motel with her to engage in sexual activity.

The traveling count with which Smith is charged carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE 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-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

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.