Pennsylvania man pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor

SCRANTON, Pa — A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Pennsylvania State Police, Pittston Police and the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office.

Gregory Boone, 30, of Pittston, Pennsylvania, admitted to conspiring with others to recruit, harbor and transport minor females to engage in commercial sex acts for money during the summer of 2013 in Luzerne and Dauphin counties.

According to his plea agreement, Boone admitted to participating in a scheme to use minor females to engage in prostitution. Boone and his co-conspirators used cell phones to produce and transmit photographs of the females which were posted on a website to facilitate prostitution activities in motels in Luzerne County and in the Harrisburg area of Pennsylvania.

Boone was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2013. He faces a possible life prison sentence 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 10,000 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 2013, 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.