Western Massachusetts Man Charged with Traveling to Meet Minor for Sex

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Joseph A. Defilippi, age 55, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, was arrested Friday and charged with traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James Hendricks, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The charge in the complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The criminal complaint alleges that between February 28, 2018 and August 10, 2018, Defilippi exchanged e-mails with an undercover investigator who was posing as a 13-year-old boy named “Dylan.”  Many of the electronic communications sent by Defilippi to “Dylan” involved Defilippi expressing his desire to engage in sexual acts with “Dylan.” 

In early August 2018, Defilippi and “Dylan” discussed plans in which Defilippi would travel from Massachusetts in order to meet “Dylan” at a park in Menands, New York.  On the morning of August 10, 2018, Defilippi drove from Chicopee to the park in Menands.  Shortly after Defilippi’s arrival at the park, he was encountered by law enforcement and admitted that he had travelled from Massachusetts to New York intending to engage in sexual acts with “Dylan.”

Defilippi appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart and was ordered detained pending further proceedings.

The charge filed against Defilippi carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss.