This week, Ali M. McCoy was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl out of an apartment in Erie, Pennsylvania. Pursuant to a plea agreement, McCoy pleaded guilty to one count of sex trafficking of a minor and attempted sex trafficking of a minor.
The investigation into McCoy began in 2022, when the FBI received a tip that a minor was being trafficked through an adult escort service website. The FBI and police traced the tip to McCoy’s apartment on the 600 block of Payne Avenue on the east side of Erie. McCoy was indicted in 2023.
According to reports, from May to July 2022, McCoy arranged “dates” for sex buyers with the 16-year-old victim. These “dates” involved the sex buyers paying $100 to $200 to perform sex acts with the child at McCoy’s apartment. To build their case, investigators relied on digital evidence acquired from McCoy’s cell phone alongside interviews of McCoy and the minor victim. Text messages procured from McCoy’s device revealed the extent of the child’s exploitation; according to one text message, McCoy told the girl: “Hurry up and finish with this guy, because we have another person waiting.”
As a result of these crimes, McCoy faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison. The District Court imposed additional penalties, including registration as a sex offender and a fine pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice-launched initiative that aims to combat the commercial sexual exploitation and abuse of children nationwide. Through this initiative, local, state, and federal authorities unite to protect children by targeting sex trafficking cases involving minors.
The CSE Institute commends the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold for their commitment to prosecuting this case. The CSE Institute also applauds the FBI and local authorities for their collaborative investigative efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of minors.
The CSE Institute notes the role that the internet and online communications can play in the recruitment and advertisement of victims, particularly minors. The facts show that this investigation began because authorities were concerned that a minor was being trafficked through an adult escort service website. We caution that the internet and online communications can pose threats to the safety of children when a trafficker is on the other end. The CSE Institute advocates for human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation education for minors so that they can be equipped to handle these situations if they arise.
Further, the CSE Institute encourages law enforcement to use websites such as the one that facilitated the minor’s trafficking in this case to identify and prosecute sex buyers, After all, it is sex buyers that drive the demand for commercial sex.
The CSE Institute advocates for the Equality Model, which seeks to reduce the demand for commercial sex by criminalizing sex buyers and traffickers and decriminalizing prostituted people. The four pillars of the Equality Model are: (1) decriminalization of the person who is selling sex, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators, (3) educating the public about the harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, holistic exit services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.