Peckville Man Sentenced for Online Enticement of Minors

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Mark Kandel, age 53, was sentenced today in federal court in Wilkes-Barre by U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo to 174 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, upon the completion of imprisonment and will be subject to the registration and reporting requirements of the Adam Walsh Act.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Kandel was indicted in December 2012 after he used the Internet and a cellular device in attempts to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce minors to engage in sexual activity. Kandel pleaded guilty in June 2013.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office, and the Blakely Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.