Former Hilton Middle School Teacher Sentenced For Attempted Enticement Of A Minor

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Charles Kane, 46, of Spencerport, NY, who was convicted of attempted online enticement of minor, was sentenced to 120 months in prison and 240 months of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that the defendant, a middle school teacher in the Hilton School District, was arrested April 2, 2015 as he attempted to meet with a person he thought was a 14 year old girl.

The investigation determined that in October 2014, the defendant posted an ad on Craigslist which read “daddy/daughter. Love younger women.” A federal law enforcement officer, working in an undercover capacity, posed as the father of a young daughter and conversed with Kane online for the next several months. During these conversations, Kane discussed traveling to meet the undercover and engaging in sexual activity with the undercover’s ten year old daughter. 

On January 26, 2015, another undercover officer noticed a different sexually explicit ad on Craigslist which was traced back, once again, to the defendant. The officer responded to the ad in the persona of a 14 year old girl. Kane responded that he was “down with it.” The defendant asked the girl where she lived and said he wanted to meet her. The two remained in contact through March of 2015. During online chats, Kane sent the undercover officer photos of himself, including one he took in the men’s room at the Middle School where he taught, and repeatedly asked for photos of the 14 year old girl. Also during the chats, the defendant repeatedly discussed engaging in sexually explicit activity with the child and traveling to and meeting with the child for sexual purposes. One message read “I could get a room and I could sneak you there.” Kane acknowledged that he could get in “big trouble” and told the girl “this is between you and me.”

Following repeated requests, the girl agreed to meet the defendant at a theatre in Webster on April 2, 2015. The defendant was observed entering a pharmacy just before meeting with the undercover, where they learned that Kane purchased a box of condoms. Kane was arrested as soon as he pulled up to the theatre parking lot. He has been in federal custody since his arrest, and was held following a detention hearing last month.       

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Craig Hanesworth and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Adam S. Cohen. The task force includes the Buffalo Police Department, Cheektowaga Police Department, Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations.