Vermont Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Gabriel Charron, age 51, of Milton, Vermont, pled guilty today to the attempted online enticement of a minor.

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), made the announcement.

Charron admitted that between May 2022 and March 4, 2023, he exchanged sexually explicit messages online with people he believed were a mother and an 11-year old girl, respectively, in an attempt to entice the child into engaging in sexual acts with him.  Charron also admitted that on March 4, 2023, he travelled from Vermont to a hotel in Albany County, New York, with the intent to engage in sexual acts with the 11-year-old girl.  Charron was arrested by law enforcement shortly after arriving at the location. 

At sentencing on December 18, 2023, before Senior United States District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, Charron faces at least 10 years and up to a life in prison.  The judge will also be required to impose a term of post-release supervision of at least 5 years and up to life.  The court may also impose a fine, restitution, and forfeiture of the smartphone Charron used to commit his offense.  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.  Charron will also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. 

The FBI’s Mid-State Child Exploitation Task Force and Capital Region Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated the case. Each task force is comprised of FBI Special Agents, as well as state and local police investigators, including from the New York State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss is prosecuting the case 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.