FBI says man wanted on child sex trafficking charge may be hiding in Tampa area

Emily Wunderlich, Tampa Bay Times
·2 min read

The FBI says it is searching for a fugitive wanted on a child sex trafficking charge who may be hiding in the Tampa area.

Donald Eugene Fields II, 60, was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in May 2023. He was federally indicted on one count of child sex trafficking in December 2022. Fields and Theodore “Ted” John Sartori Sr. were accused of “knowingly attempting to recruit, entice, provide, patronize and solicit a minor into engaging in a commercial sex act from about January 2013 until June 2017,” the FBI said in a news release Friday.

In a December 2022 court hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Collins said Sartori provided cash, cars, motorcycles, vacations and Christmas presents to Fields in exchange for access to the victim. Sartori was indicted on a charge of child sex trafficking and pleaded not guilty in December 2022. He is still awaiting trial.

Fields also faces charges of statutory rape, statutory sodomy, child molestation and witness tampering in Franklin County Circuit Court in Missouri. The court issued a warrant for his arrest after Fields “vacated his home” and failed to show up for a hearing on March 3, 2022, according to the FBI. A federal arrest warrant was issued for him on Dec. 8, 2022.

The FBI believes Fields could be hiding in the Tampa area since he was known to vacation in Florida. He may also be hiding in central Missouri, a few hours from where he used to live in Franklin County. The FBI is running ads in those areas on Facebook and Instagram.

Fields has a large tribal print tattoo near his shoulder and “may be relying on cash jobs such as tree-trimming,” according to the news release. The FBI previously said Fields had worked as a resale shop owner and an independent used car dealer.

The FBI is offering up to $250,000 for information leading to his arrest. Tips can be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-225-5325.