SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Mason Morey, age 27, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on November 20, 2023, to 300 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for attempted online enticement and sexual exploitation of children.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between November 28, 2022, and December 8, 2022, Morey used the online application “Wikr” to communicate with an individual who Morey believed was the father of a 13-year-old girl who was offering his daughter for sex. However, Morey was actually communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer. On December 7, 2022, Morey travelled to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to meet and engage in sexual activity with the 13-year-old girl. Law enforcement placed Morey under arrested upon his arrival and seized multiple cell phones in his possession. Law enforcement conducted a digital extraction of the information on Morey’s cell phones and discovered that he was creating [censored]ographic videos and images with two minors and transmitting these images to another individual.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts prosecuted the case.
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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
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