An undercover investigation has led to the arrest of Lehigh County’s Phillip C. Londono for attempting to purchase an 11-year-old child for sex. According to Lehigh Valley Live, the 40-year-old Londono allegedly wanted to pursue a “child rape fantasy” with someone he believed to be the friend of a prostituted person. Fortunately, that “friend” was a Monroe County detective.
The investigation began after a woman arrested in early May on prostitution charges asked authorities if one of their undercover officers had sent her a text message inquiring about a sex act with a child. From there, authorities discovered the message had allegedly been sent from Londono’s phone. Detectives began posing as the woman who gave them the tip and continued the conversation with Londono, allegedly informing him that they had found a woman who would allow him to have sex with her 11-year-old daughter in exchange for $400.
The detectives then began posing as the mother of the child and continued to communicate with Londono. He allegedly asked if they could agree to an arrangement where Londono would pay her $100 each week to have the purported mother’s young daughter perform a sex act.
Law enforcement set up surveillance at a bar in Stroudsberg where the two agreed to meet. The undercover officer and Londono exchanged greetings. Londono hugged the undercover officer and was subsequently apprehended.
Londono’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10, 2019 and his bail is set at $200,000. He currently faces 13 felony charges, including 18 § 5902 §§ B.13 Promoting Prostitution of a Minor by means of encouragement, as well as 18 § 902 §§ A Criminal Solicitation – Trafficking in Minors.
The CSE Institute applauds the work of Monroe County detectives in investigating, arresting, and charging Londono. Pursuing the demand for commercial sex is vastly important. Those who make the conscious decision to purchase another human being for their own sexual desires, especially a minor child, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
All viewed expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.