PHILADELPHIA, PA — A California man was convicted Thursday on federal charges related to the online exploitation of a minor and traveling to Pennsylvania to engage in illicit sexual conduct, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said.
John Douglas Burch, 56, of Los Angeles, was found guilty at trial of using interstate commerce to entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct and prostitution, as well as two counts of traveling for illicit sexual activity.
Prosecutors said the charges stem from a yearslong scheme in which Burch used social media and online communication to exploit minors.
According to court filings and trial evidence, Burch directed a female victim beginning at age 14 to produce and send sexually explicit images and videos over the internet.
Prosecutors said he also encouraged the victim to engage in commercial sex acts with adult men and to document those encounters.
Between 2014 and 2015, Burch traveled from California to Pennsylvania on two occasions and sexually assaulted the victim at a Montgomery County hotel, according to the evidence presented at trial.
Burch was indicted in January 2024 and convicted on all counts.
He is scheduled to be sentenced August 25 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life, along with potential supervised release, fines, and restitution.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Fort Washington Resident Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ashenfelter and Anthony Carissimi.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation.
More information about the initiative is available at https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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