- April 25, 2024
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A Palm Coast man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sex trafficking of a minor. The case resulted in the county's first conviction on a human trafficking charge.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office arrested Sean Patrick Farrelly, 47, on Feb. 18, 2019, for two separate counts of Sexual Crimes against Minors and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.
The FBI adopted the case in March 2019, and Farrelly was indicted by a grand jury for Sex Trafficking of a Minor.
Farrelly pleaded guilty on June 19, 2019.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington.
On April 13, 2021, United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard sentenced Farrelly to 30 years in federal prison for Sex Trafficking a Minor.
Farrelly was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
“This conviction highlights the incredible job accomplished by our detectives, with Sgt. Frank Gamarra taking the lead,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “The work done to build this case was incredible and commendable. Thank you to our federal partners for working with us to bring justice to the victim and send Farrelly to prison for 30 years. If you prey on children, we will do everything we can to build strong cases to send you away for a very long time!”
Farrelly had solicited a 16-year-old to engage in commercial sex acts between March 2018 and February 2019 by texting the victim, sending her pictures of money, providing her with alcohol or marijuana and paying her $30-$40 for sex acts, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida
During recorded phone calls with the victim, Farrelly admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim and said he was worried that the calls were being recorded and that he was going to go to jail.
The case was investigated and prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
