Attica Man Indicted on Coercion and Enticement Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 28, 2011 |
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Paul J. Havlen, Jr., 46, of Attica, New York, with coercion and enticement of a person he believed to be a minor boy. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum sentence of life, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Havlen pleaded not guilty during his arraignment today before Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott. He is being detained.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that according to the Indictment, Havlen sent e-mails and text messages to a person he believed to be a 15-year-old boy. The indictment further alleges that Havlen arranged to meet the boy at Attica Memorial Park, for the purposes of smoking marijuana and engaging in sexual activity. In reality, Havlen was actually exchanging e-mails and text messages with law enforcement officers. The defendant was arrested when he arrived at the park to meet the boy.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction of Sheriff Farris Heimann, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.