Florida man sentenced to life for traveling to abuse minors

FLORIDA — A Florida man was sentenced today to life in prison for traveling from Florida to Vietnam to engage in sex acts with Vietnamese minors he had met and communicated with over the internet, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

Christopher Edwin Day, 52, of Saint Petersburg, pleaded guilty to two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual activity in February 2020, the DOJ said.

According to documents filed with the court and statements made in connection with Day’s plea and sentencing, on two separate occasions in 2015 and 2016, Day traveled from Florida to Vietnam to engage in sex acts with minor Vietnamese boys.

According to court documents, Day flew back and forth to Vietnam under the guise that he was an English teacher, and some boys were lured to Day with promises of money and gifts while others were introduced to Day as their English teacher.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa made the announcement.

The case was investigated by HSI agents in Tampa and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Garcia Rich for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.