Detroit Man Convicted Of Child Porn, Sex Trafficking

(CBS DETROIT) — A Detroit man was found guilty in federal court on child pornography and sex trafficking charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Officials say Ryon Travis, 38, was convicted Monday after a three-day jury trial.

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U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said the jury deliberated for three hours before returning. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 23 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, up to life.

“This defendant exploited a child and an adult victim in brutal ways.  He targeted a vulnerable woman and took advantage of her for his own profit,” Ison said in a press release.

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Federal officials say the case began as a fraud investigation by the West Bloomfield Police Department. Police executed a search warrant at Travis’ home and recovered a phone with explicit images depicting the sexual abuse of a young child.

The case was referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials, who went back to the home to find a sheet seen in one of the images and found a woman “chained at the neck to a stripper pole in the living room,” authorities say.

Further investigation confirmed that Travis was prostituting the woman and three others. Officials say he restrained the woman with a chain when she attempted to leave.

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