An Oklahoma author and self-proclaimed "BDSM Educator, Kink and Polyamory Activist" has been charged in connection with bringing a 17-year-old runaway from New York to Lawton for sex.
Charles Michael Segaloff, 59, is a bondage author who writes under the pen name Michael Makai. According to federal court documents, a 17-year-old girl who read his books contacted him for more information about the BDSM lifestyle, which involves bondage and discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and masochism. Segaloff allegedly drove to Greenwich, New York, to pick up the girl, and brought her to Lawton, where she stayed with him and his girlfriend, identified as Edna N. Grayson, 26.
Segaloff and Grayson are accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and harboring a runaway. Segaloff faces a federal charge of travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
In New York, from where the girl traveled, the age of consent is 17. In Oklahoma, it is 16. Although the girl has reached the age of consent in both states, it is a violation of federal law to transport a minor under the age of 18 for the purpose of sexual activity, and it is a violation of federal law for anyone under the age of 18 to engage in commercial sex acts.
Federal law in 18 U.S. Code § 2423 prohibits transporting minors, traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. The two sections of law which may apply to the allegations against the Lawton author follow:
(a)Transportation With Intent To Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity.— A person who knowingly transports an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any commonwealth, territory or possession of the United States, with intent that the individual engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years or for life.
(b)Travel With Intent To Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.— A person who travels in interstate commerce or travels into the United States, or a United States citizen or an alien admitted for permanent residence in the United States who travels in foreign commerce, for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
If convicted, it would not be the first time the accused man has been convicted of a sex offense. In the early 2000's in Washington state, he pleaded guilty to second degree assault with sexual motivation. When he moved to Oklahoma shortly after his conviction, he was required to register as a sex offender. He is no longer required to register as a sex offender in Oklahoma.
Image credit: Twitter, @MikeMakai
