Convicted Sex Trafficker Indicted For Escape

HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Jimmy Cantelmo, age 33, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was indicted on February 23, 2022, by a federal grand jury on escape charges.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment alleges that on February 16, 2022, Cantelmo escaped from custody of the Capital Pavilion Residential Reentry Center in Dauphin County, where he was confined following his conviction of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaime M. Keating is prosecuting 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.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 5 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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