Former Pennsylvania teacher and coach pleads guilty to child sex crimes
01/11/2022 12:09 pm PST
ERIE, Pa. (TCD) -- A former teacher and coach pleaded guilty last week to the sexual exploitation of children, including traveling across state lines from Pennsylvania to Georgia to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Gregory Mancini, 32, had groomed a victim for months in 2018, when the minor was 13 years old. Mancini reportedly discussed his intentions to perform sex acts with the minor, telling the victim to keep their contact a secret.
The victim reportedly alerted the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, and according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a detective went undercover and assumed the victim’s identity online. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that in an online conversation with the undercover detective, Mancini stated "i want u, I love u." Mancini also reportedly texted the undercover detective thinking it was the minor, "I want to hug u … kiss u … love u."
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mancini made plans to visit the minor in Georgia on Nov. 2, 2018. Upon his arrival, Mancini was reportedly arrested and interviewed. When interviewed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says, "Mancini admitted that he had engaged in sexual talk with the minor victim and that he had crossed the line."
Upon further investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Mancini obtained child sexual abuse content from the dark web.
On Jan. 9, 2020, authorities served a search warrant at Mancini’s home in Erie County and recovered two computers and a thumb drive, revealing hundreds of items of child sex abuse content "depicting children as young as two being raped and abused by adults," the U.S. Attorney’s Office says. Additionally, Mancini’s journal was reportedly seized, and it included details about his attraction to younger boys.
Mancini’s sentencing is scheduled for May 6, 2022. He could face up to 70 years in prison and/or a fine of $750,000.
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