Man described as ‘threat to children’ sentenced to prison after Centre County child predator sting
A man was sentenced Tuesday to 8 1/2 years in federal prison for communicating with an undercover FBI agent to arrange sex with a 13-year-old girl in Centre County.
Gregory Wilson, 51, of Mifflin County, was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann to 10 years of supervision once he is released from prison.
Brann recommended that Wilson serve his time at a federal prison in Union County. While there, Brann urged the Bureau of Prisons to give Wilson an opportunity to participate in a 500-hour drug abuse program.
Wilson pleaded guilty in February to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. He communicated with an undercover FBI agent who posed as an aunt of a 13-year-old girl and agreed to pay for sex with the child.
He traveled about 40 minutes to meet the child in Patton Township and paid the woman he believed was her aunt, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin wrote in a court filing. She described him as a “threat to children.”
But defense lawyer G. Scott Gardner described Wilson as a divorced father of three adult children with alcoholism and depression. His memo to Brann also listed five other medical conditions.
“His conduct in this case occurred after a bout of heavy drinking brought on by a failed relationship and was an aberration that will not, in this writer’s opinion, be repeated,” Gardner wrote. “Defendant is remorseful and has accepted responsibility for his crime.”
Wilson did not have a criminal record before he was arrested in November. He was a coach for youth baseball and softball teams.
His youngest daughter, Cassidy Wilson, described him as hardworking, compassionate, reliable, trustworthy and empathetic. His younger sister, Kerry Sizer, wrote in a letter to Brann that she “never felt that Greg was inappropriate in his actions with any of the girls in our family.”
“I trust him completely with my daughters and always will. I truly feel that the occurrence which landed him in this situation was an isolated incident, a huge mistake,” Sizer wrote. “Please consider his family when judging and sentencing Greg. Those who love him miss him already.”
Wilson was one of four men arrested in nearly as many days after an investigation into child sexual exploitation in Centre County. The probe was led by the FBI, but was assisted by Patton Township police and other agencies.
Each of the men were accused of communicating with an undercover officer posing as a teenager or someone who would arrange sex with a teen for money, police wrote.
Christopher L. Crispen, 33, of Howard, pleaded guilty in May to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. He faces at least 10 years in prison as part of a plea agreement with the Justice Department.
Crispen was accused of sending a series of messages that discussed oral and anal sex to an undercover officer. He was arrested after attempting to meet the phony teen at a gas station in Patton Township.
He told investigators he planned to “(fool) around” with the 15-year-old and admitted he “knew what he was going to do was wrong,” a township police detective wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Walter T. Sitosky, 66, of Clearfield County, and Robert D. Mansberger, 58, of Huntingdon County, are each accused of separately responding to an online ad that offered sex with an underage girl. They have pleaded not guilty.
Both arranged with an undercover officer to come to the Centre Region to pay for sex with what they believed would be a 13-year-old girl. When interviewed by investigators, Sitosky said he “wanted to feel young again,” police wrote.