Arthur Picanco, Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct, New Hampshire 2024

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 to 7 years in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Samantha D. Elliott on November 14, 2024.

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 Erin 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.”

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. The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. 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.

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