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Press Release

Troy Sex Offender Sentenced for Attempting to Entice a Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Lawrence Belcher, age 37, of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 188 months in prison for attempting to coerce and entice a child to engage in sexual acts with him. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

In previously pleading guilty, Belcher admitted that between January and April 2022, he sent sexually explicit text messages to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old boy.  Belcher asked to meet the child in person in order to engage in sexual acts with the child in his car.  On April 14, 2022, Belcher traveled to a motel parking lot in Schenectady County in order to meet and have sex with the child.  Belcher was encountered by law enforcement upon his arrival and arrested; he has been in custody since April 14.

Belcher has a prior misdemeanor conviction for sexually abusing a child younger than 14 years old, and was a registered sex offender at the time of his arrest in April. He also has two misdemeanor convictions for failing to comply with New York State sex offender registry requirements.

Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also imposed a 15-year term of supervised release to begin after Belcher is released from prison. Belcher will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI and its Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Rotterdam and Colonie Police Departments.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Barnett as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Updated November 30, 2022

Topic
Project Safe Childhood