Four PA men arrested as part of child sexual exploitation investigation in Centre County
Prosecutors made public Monday the arrest of four men as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Centre County, a probe months in the making.
Walter T. Sitosky Jr., 66, of Clearfield County; Robert D. Mansberger, 58, of Huntingdon County; Gregory Wilson, 50, of Mifflin County; and Christopher L. Crispen, 32, of Howard, were arrested in a span of three days. The various charges generally allege attempted sexual assault.
The arrest of that many people on charges of that nature in a short period of time is unusual and significant, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna said.
“These were not accidents,” Cantorna said of the allegations.
Undercover investigators posted an online ad offering sex with an underage girl, Patton Township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
It’s not known how many people responded to the ad. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Vanessa Paris declined comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
“Right now, we don’t have information that there’s a larger network of predators,” Paris said.
At least three of the men traveled to Patton Township to meet who they believed was a teenager, and they were arrested after they gave money in exchange for sex.
Sitosky and Mansberger said they planned to have sex with the girl, police wrote. Crispen discussed oral and anal sex in text messages, later telling investigators he planned to “(fool) around” with a child, police wrote.
Sitosky, when interviewed by investigators, also said he “wanted to feel young again,” police wrote.
A charging document filed against Wilson was not publicly available about noon Monday. He was charged federally and his first court appearance was scheduled for later in the day, Paris said. He’s incarcerated at the Clinton County Correctional Facility.
No defense lawyers were listed.
“We were tremendously happy with the results of this,” township police Chief Tyler Jolley said.
The probe began with a conversation at least six months ago during a monthly meeting of local police chiefs and federal investigators. It was organized by Patton Township police officer Elijah Vardzel.
“Trafficking of human beings is a major, major issue among our country, not just in our local area. We live in a very transient area. We have large events in our area that draw people from all over the state, the tri-state area and possibly the country,” Jolley said. “Just with the amount of traffic that comes through here, we thought it would be a good idea to partner with the FBI, state police to see if we have a need for this type of a detail. Clearly, it showed with our results.”
Sitosky and Mansberger were each charged with felony counts of attempting to patronize of a victim of human trafficking, attempted statutory sexual assault, attempting to promote the prostitution of a minor, attempted unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.
Crispen was charged with felony counts of attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.
Wilson was charged with attempted coercion, enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and prostitution.
Sitosky, Mansberger and Crispen were arraigned by District Judge Casey McClain. Mansberger’s bail was set at $250,000, while Sitosky and Crispen’s bail was set at $100,000. None posted bail and each are incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Facility.
All three have a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Cantorna said he expects their cases will eventually be prosecuted federally.
The FBI, along with Patton Township, Ferguson Township, Penn State, Williamsport and state police and the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office assisted.
