A Mifflin County man accused of soliciting an undercover FBI to arrange sex with a 13-year-old girl near State College last year has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Gregory Wilson, 51, of Lewistown, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison after pleading guilty on Feb. 20 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Wilson used the internet to communicate with an FBI agent posing as the aunt of a 13-year-old girl and agreed to pay $220 for two hours with the child, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin wrote in a filing in the Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. Wilson traveled 40 minutes to meet the minor in Patton Township and handed money to the woman he believed was the aunt, according to the filing.
“Despite expressing hesitation at the possibility that he would encounter law enforcement, he still arranged for the meeting, travelled and paid money,” Martin wrote. “Wilson is a threat to children.”
Wilson was one of four men charged in November after an investigation led by the FBI and assisted by officers from Patton Township police, the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office and Williamsport police.
In each case the men communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a teenager or as someone who would arrange sex with a teen for money, according to affidavits of probable cause filed by Patton Township police.
Christopher L. Crispen, 33, of Howard; Robert D. Mansberger, 58, of Cassville; and Walter T. Sitosky, 66, of Houtzdale, were also taken arrested between Nov. 8-10 in Patton Township.
Sitosky and Mansberger separately responded to an online advertisement for a female willing to engage in sexual activities, according to affidavits filed by Patton Township police. Both men allegedly arranged through text messages with an undercover officer to go to the State College area to pay for sex with what they believed would be a 13-year-old girl.
In both cases, the men arrived at the arranged address in Patton Township and paid a deposit to an undercover officer with the intention of being taken to a residence to meet the teen, police wrote. They were then taken into custody and both men admitted that they intended to pay for sex with a 13-year-old, according to the affidavit.
Crispen is accused of sending a series of messages to an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old boy. He allegedly discussed engaging in sex acts and arranged to meet the “teen” at a location in Patton Township and take him back to his home to have sex. When he arrived, Crispen was taken into custody and allegedly admitted that he planned to “fool around” with a 15-year-old.
Sitosky, Mansberger and Crispen were initially charged with felonies in Centre County, but, like Wilson, have since been charged in federal court. All three have pleaded not guilty.
