A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Joseph-Michael Elias McFarland, 21, of Madison, with sex trafficking of a minor and with drug trafficking. McFarland was arraigned in the United States District Court in Tallahassee on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The indictment was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The indictment alleges that, in September 2015, in the Northern District of Florida, McFarland knowingly enticed a person less than 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act, and that he knowingly distributed methylone. The trial is scheduled for December 14, 2015, at 8:15 a.m.
This case resulted from investigations by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Tallahassee Police Department and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Harwin.
An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
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1. Joseph-Michael Elias McFarland