A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Friday to 97 months in prison for a sex offense against a minor. Gregory Thomas O’Connor, 48, of Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, previously pleaded guilty to travel in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor.
Following release from prison, O’Connor will be placed on 15 years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, O’Connor admitted that on August 7, 2020, he initiated contact with a person on a Kik Messaging group for West Virginia teens. Believing this person to be a 13-year-old girl from Beckley, O’Connor engaged in conversations over the next 6 weeks wherein he told the minor he wanted to meet her to engage in sexual activity and also coached her on masturbation and watching pornography in order to prepare for their sexual encounter.
On September 2, 2020, O’Connor intended to travel to Beckley to meet the minor. He drove from Pennsylvania to Fairmont but then had to turn around due to a work emergency. He continued to discuss traveling at a future date to meet the girl for sexual activity.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Timothy Boggess are handling the prosecution.
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