Manhattan Man Sentenced To More Than 24 Years In Prison For Attempted Enticement Of A Minor

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that STEPHEN P. BROWN was sentenced to 292 months in prison and supervised release for life for attempting to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.  United States District Judge Nelson S. Román imposed the sentence.           

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “Over the course of three decades, Stephen Brown sexually abused four boys.  His predatory activity ended when he used email and text messages in an attempt to lure an individual he believed was his most recent 11-year-old victim.  That child victim he thought he was going to meet and have sex with, was in fact an undercover officer.  This case underlines the urgent and serious need for law enforcement to continue its efforts to protect vulnerable children from those who seek to prey on them.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:

Between January 14, 2014 and March 4, 2014, BROWN, engaged in sexually explicit online communications with a New York State Police Investigator who was acting in an undercover capacity and posing as an 11-year old boy.  During these communications, BROWN discussed various sexual acts he wished to perform on the boy, requested that the boy provide BROWN with sexually explicit photographs of himself, and made a plan to meet the boy in a Westchester County, New York, hotel for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. 

On March 4, 2014, BROWN was arrested in Westchester when he arrived at the designated meeting place to meet the boy. After his arrest, BROWN admitted, among other things, that he had exchanged emails and instant messages with a boy and discussed meeting the boy to engage in sexual acts.  BROWN admitted that he asked the boy for sexually explicit photos and that he wanted such photos.  He stated that he brought his camera to the hotel because he intended to take sexually explicit photos of the boy. 

After his arrest, a search of BROWN’s home revealed BROWN’s possession of thousands of images and videos of child pornography.  Further, the investigation of BROWN revealed that, over the last 30 years, BROWN sexually abused four boys.

BROWN, 64, of Manhattan, New York, was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

Mr. Bharara praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Albany County District Attorney’s Office, the City of New York Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Rockland County Computer Crimes Task Force in connection with this investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.