Detroit man gets life in prison for production of child pornography, sex trafficking minors following HSI, local law enforcement investigation
DETROIT — A Detroit man who photographed his sexual assaults of a young child and forced an adult to engage in prostitution was sentenced to life in prison, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar announced Tuesday.
Salazar was joined in the announcement by United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison and Michael Patton, Chief of West Bloomfield Township Police Department.
Ryon Travis, 39, was convicted of production of child pornography and sex trafficking after a jury trial in July 2022. Travis was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Bernard A. Friedman.
Police began investigating Travis in connection with identity theft. When detectives searched Travis’s cell phone for evidence of fraud, they found something far more alarming: explicit photographs of child sexual abuse depicting the penetration of a prepubescent child. And when law enforcement returned to Travis’s home a second time to gather additional evidence related to child pornography, they found an adult woman chained at the neck to a pole in the living room. Investigators learned that multiple women lived in Travis’s home, and he considered all of them his “wives.” Travis arranged commercial sex dates for all of the women. When one of the women tried to leave, Travis forced her to continue engaging in prostitution by placing a chain around her neck.
“Predators like Travis tear at the very foundation of our communities, not only victimizing children but subjecting multiple women to sex trafficking” said Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar, HSI Detroit. “It is my hope that this sentence brings some measure of peace to the survivors, knowing that he will remain behind bars.”
“Child sexual abuse leaves an indelible mark on victims. The documentation of the abuse makes this crime even more egregious. This defendant also forced an adult woman to engage in prostitution by physically restraining her with a chain. The public needs to be protected from Ryon Travis, and this lengthy sentence helps to do just that,” U.S. Attorney Ison said.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the West Bloomfield Township Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Woodward and Andrea Hutting.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
Learn more about HSI’s mission @HSIDetroit.
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