BOSTON — A Lynn man was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexually exploiting teenage boys in Laos, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Michael Sebastian, 52, was charged by criminal complaint with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and sex trafficking of children. He was arrested Wednesday in Lynn, where he has been living with his mother.
Sebastian appeared in federal court in Boston Wednesday, where he was detained pending a detention and probable cause hearing scheduled for July 13, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the charges stem from Sebastian’s time in Laos, where he had been teaching English to Laotian youth for the past two years. During that time, Sebastian provided housing to at least three boys he taught, aged 13 to 18, prosecutors said.
As part of an alleged rental arrangement, the boys were allegedly allowed to pay off their rent by performing chores, which included giving Sebastian massages and masturbating him, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Sebastian faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and maximum sentence of life in prison for sex trafficking of children, with up to a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said.