February 26, 2015

Dauphin County Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Child Sex Trafficking Case

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Coy C. Klinger, 37, of Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of children before United States District Court Judge John E. Jones, III, in Harrisburg.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, Klinger was charged in September 2014 for seeking out young girls and women online and having them engage in sexual activity for money with customers in his home in Lower Paxton Township. Klinger took graphic, nude photographs of the girls and women and posted them online in advertisements for prostitution services. The FBI found evidence on electronic devices in Klinger’s home at 5716 Kenwood Avenue, including an Iphone and a laptop computer.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lower Paxton Township Police Department and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith A. Taylor.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

At sentencing, Klinger faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment on the sex trafficking charge and a statutory maximum of life imprisonment. The United States and Klinger have agreed to jointly recommend a sentence of 120 months’ incarceration but the final determination as to Klinger’s sentence will be the decision of the court.

A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.