Boston man convicted of trying to purchase sex with 14-year-old

Local News

“Every single person who considers paying to have sex with a minor better take notice – if you are caught you are facing at least a mandatory 10-year sentence in a federal prison.”

A Boston man was convicted Monday of trying to pay $100 for sex with a 14-year-old girl at a local hotel in 2022.

Dimitri Shawn McKenzie, 29, was found guilty on one charge of attempted sex trafficking of a child by a federal jury, which provides for at least a 10-year prison sentence, according to the office of acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy.

Levy’s office said that, in November 2022, McKenzie responded to a post online advertising a 12- and 14-year-old girl for sexual acts in exchange for money in the Boston area. The post was fake, put online by law enforcement.

McKenzie, in text messages with an undercover officer, agreed to pay $100 for sex with the fictitious 14-year-old at a hotel in the area, authorities said. Once at the hotel, Levy’s office said the 29-year-old provided cash to an undercover officer for 20 minutes with the nonexistent minor and accepted a hotel key.�

He was immediately arrested, authorities said.

“Every single person who considers paying to have sex with a minor better take notice – if you are caught you are facing at least a mandatory 10-year sentence in a federal prison,” Levy said in a statement. “The reason people sell sex with little children is because there is demand for opportunities to engage in such morally reprehensible conduct. The only way to make progress in truly protecting kids from such predatory behavior is to both prosecute the men who traffic young girls and the men whose demand fuels this pernicious market.”

McKenzie will return to court for sentencing in September.