Lexington man charged with attempted sex trafficking of a child

Homeland Security Investigations arrested a Lexington man after he allegedly responded to a phony ad and tried to pay for sex with two minor girls, according to authorities.

David Chris Cannon, 59, had previously been convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, when he was arraigned on the new charges yesterday.

HSI agents conducting a sting in the greater Boston area caught Cannon responding to a fake ad posted on an overseas website created for individuals seeking minors for sex, according to court documents.

In an affidavit, the federal agents said they posted the fake ad with “two young looking girls” on Tuesday and Cannon responded the following day.

The agents said that through several text messages, they offered Cannon two girls, 12 and 14, for “$200 for an hour with one of the girls or $400 for an hour with both girls.” Cannon was instructed to meet the girls at an unspecified hotel in Waltham where undercover agents were waiting, according to authorities.

After the money was allegedly exchanged between Cannon and the agents, Cannon was arrested and taken into custody, according to authorities.

Cannon was to be arraigned in U.S. District Court in Boston on a charge of attempted sex trafficking of a child. 

In 2019, the Lexington man was convicted in state court of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, according to Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry records.

Correction: Homeland Security Investigations was the arresting and investigating agency, not the FBI.