Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 7 years in Federal Prison for Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct

Massachusetts Man Sentenced to 7 years in Federal Prison for Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct

CONCORD – Arthur Picanco, 43, of Bradford, Massachusetts, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Samantha D. Elliott to 7 years in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. Picanco previously pleaded guilty to one count of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

“Individuals who travel across state lines to exploit children in New Hampshire will be found, prosecuted, and held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Creegan. “The defendant deliberately traveled from Massachusetts to New Hampshire intending to purchase sex from someone he believed to be a minor. Today’s significant sentence recognizes the seriousness of his conduct.”

“Picanco actively chose to pursue a child. He believed he was chatting with a trafficker offering him a chance to assault a child for a fee and he made deliberate choices to make it happen. He agreed on a price, he drove to New Hampshire, and he arrived with cash in hand. Now, after today’s sentencing, he’ll serve serious federal prison time,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “Through undercover operations like this, we can find and arrest child predators before they have a chance to prey on real children.”

On November 14, 2024, in a proactive law enforcement operation, agents posted and monitored an advertisement on a website commonly used to advertise commercial sex. The advertisement contained images of what appeared to be two minor females, and a contact phone number. Law enforcement agents monitored the phone line and used it to communicate with potential sex buyers, including Picanco. Picanco arranged to pay $100 to have sex with a person who Picanco believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The undercover agent then provided Picanco with the address of a hotel in Manchester and Picanco traveled from Massachusetts to New Hampshire to the hotel. Once at the hotel, Picanco confirmed he had the cash and wanted to go up to the hotel room to meet the 14-year-old girl. When police arrested Picanco, they found that he had a condom and over $100 in cash in his pocket.

Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Krasinski Matthew Vicinanzo, and Alex Chen prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.