A Clearfield County man arrested in a 2023 child predator sting in Centre County was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison.
Walter T. Sitosky, 67, of Houtzdale, pleaded guilty in December to one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual conduct or prostitution. He is the last of four men charged in the multi-agency investigation to be sentenced.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann’s sentence on Tuesday also orders Sitosky to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and to register as a sex offender. Brann recommended that Sitosky be incarcerated at Allenwood federal prison in Union County.
His attorney had sought a sentence of home confinement.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Patton Township police, Sitosky responded to an online advertisement for a female willing to engage in sexual activities, and through text messages with an undercover officer her arranged to go to the State College area to pay for sex with what he believed would be a 13-year-old girl.
When Sitosky arrived at the arranged address in Patton Township, he paid a deposit to an undercover officer with the expectation that he would be taken to a residence to meet the teen, investigators 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 an 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 Robert D. Mansberger, 59, of of Huntingdon 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 and was sentenced in June to 8.5 years in prison.
Crispen pleaded guilty to the same charge in May 2024 and was sentenced in November to seven years in prison.
Mansberger pleaded guilty in August 2024 and was sentenced in January to 8.5 years in prison.
