One of four men charged in a 2023 child predator sting in Centre County was sentenced on Tuesday to time in federal prison.
Robert D. Mansberger, 59, of Huntingdon County, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann recommended that Mansberger serve the prison term at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Institution in Union County.
Mansberger pleaded guilty in August to one count of attempted enticement of a child.
He is the third man charged in the case to plead guilty and be sentenced to federal prison. The fourth pleaded guilty in December and is awaiting sentencing.
Responding to an online advertisement for a female willing to engage in sexual activities, Mansberger arranged through text messages with an undercover officer to go to the State College area to pay for sex with what he believed would be a 13-year-old girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in November 2023 by Patton Township police.
He arrived at the arranged address in Patton Township and paid a deposit to an undercover officer with the intention of being taken to a residence to meet the teen, police wrote. He was then taken into custody and admitted he intended to pay for sex with a 13-year-old, according to the affidavit.
The sting was part of a multi-agency investigation led by the FBI and assisted by officers from Patton Township police, the Pennsylvania State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office and Williamsport police.
Gregory Wilson, 51, of Mifflin County; Christopher L. Crispen, 33, of Howard; and Walter T. Sitosky, 66, of Clearfield County, were also arrested between Nov. 8-10, 2023 in Patton Township.
Wilson pleaded guilty in February 2024 to one count of attempted enticement of a minor. He was sentenced in June to 8.5 years in prison.
Crispen pleaded guilty to the same charge in May. He was sentenced in November to seven years in prison
Sitosky pleaded guilty on Dec. 4, also to the same charge. His sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
