Second Rhode Island man sentenced in sex trafficking conspiracy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A second Rhode Island man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for his role in a sex trafficking conspiracy that involved two minor victims.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Warwick (Rhode Island) Police Department and the Seekonk (Massachusetts) Police Department.

Mackenzy Scott, 21, of Providence, Rhode Island, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He had previously pleaded guilty to the charge on September 20, 2016.

A co-defendant in this matter, Cristian Garcia, 21, also of Providence, pleaded guilty in May 2016 to his role in the conspiracy. He was sentenced on October 27, 2016, to 24 months in federal prison to be followed by 5 years supervised release.

According to court records and information presented to the court, beginning in December 2014, Scott and Garcia conspired to take provocative photographs of a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old girl. The photographs were posted in advertisements on Backpage.com, offering the teenagers for commercial sex. Numerous individuals responded to the ads. Scott and Garcia either drove or arranged for the teenagers to be driven to various locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to engage in commercial sexual activity.

“The defendant sold children for sex, plain and simple,” said Peter F. Neronha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island. “The thought of anyone engaging in such conduct, and of children being victimized in this way, is almost unimaginable, and yet we see it over and over again. We must continue to aggressively pursue those who, like this defendant, view children, and in some instances, adults, not as people, but as a means to satisfy their own greed.”

Mackenzy Scott was arrested on February 6, 2015. Cristian Garcia was arrested on March 14, 2016. Both have been detained since their arrests.

At sentencing, Scott was also ordered to serve five years’ supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

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.