Another person charged in a 2023 child predator sting in Centre County has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Robert D. Mansberger, 59, of Huntingdon County, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of attempted enticement of a child. He is the third of four men charged in the case to enter a guilty plea.
He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to a plea agreement filed in the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Responding to an online advertisement for a female willing to engage in sexual activities, Mansberger arranged through text messages with an undercover officer to go to the State College area to pay for sex with what he believed would be a 13-year-old girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in November 2023 by Patton Township police.
He 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. He was then taken into custody and admitted he intended to pay for sex with a 13-year-old, according to the affidavit.
The sting was part of a multi-agency 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.
Gregory Wilson, 51, of Mifflin County; Christopher L. Crispen, 33, of Howard; and Walter T. Sitosky, 66, of Clearfield County, were also arrested between Nov. 8-10 in Patton Township.
Wilson pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. He was sentenced in June to 8.5 years in prison.
Crispen pleaded guilty to the same charge in May. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
Sitosky has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection in his case is scheduled for Oct. 7.
