Scranton Man Pleads Guilty to Online Enticement of Minor

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a 46-year-old Scranton resident pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo to attempting to entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Lewis John Davies admitted to using a computer to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual acts with him during April-June 2008.

Davies was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2008 as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Scranton Police Department.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, if it is accepted by the court, Davies will be sentenced to between 66 months and 78 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The agreement also requires Davies to comply with sex offender registration and treatment requirements. Davies also agreed to forfeit to the United States computers and related material used in the commission of the crime.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 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 is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.